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of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

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The activ<strong>is</strong>ts and leaders facing threats, along with <strong>the</strong>ir families,<br />

have not been afforded any meaningful protection. The continuing<br />

insecurity <strong>of</strong> witnesses <strong>of</strong> killings and <strong>the</strong> families <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> deceased<br />

<strong>is</strong> preventing <strong>the</strong> effective prosecution <strong>of</strong> perpetrators in court.<br />

Ineffective implementation <strong>of</strong> poverty alleviation,<br />

agrarian reform and urban poor development laws<br />

On Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (RA 8425):<br />

In September 2005, we sent you hunger-related cases from<br />

General Santos City, <strong>the</strong> Municipality <strong>of</strong> Alabel in Sarangani<br />

and Guindolungan, Maguindanao. These cases involve hungerrelated<br />

deaths, severe malnutrition, villagers being forced to eat<br />

po<strong>is</strong>onous frogs for lack <strong>of</strong> food, children forced to sleep with empty<br />

stomachs and villagers facing continuing threats <strong>of</strong> hunger due<br />

to sporadic fighting. Although interventions were made on th<strong>is</strong>,<br />

<strong>the</strong> AHRC <strong>is</strong> unaware <strong>of</strong> any sustained support afforded to <strong>the</strong><br />

affected families to combat <strong>the</strong> hunger and malnutrition. In fact,<br />

<strong>the</strong> family <strong>of</strong> an infant who died due to severe malnutrition in<br />

General Santos City <strong>is</strong> still experiencing hunger and extreme<br />

poverty to date.<br />

Even <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> National Anti-Poverty Comm<strong>is</strong>sion<br />

(NAPC), which was mandated under Section 5 <strong>of</strong> RA 8425, to<br />

formulate and review policies on poverty-reduction, has had no<br />

significant positive impact on <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> its<br />

planned beneficiaries. The r<strong>is</strong>ing number <strong>of</strong> hunger incidents<br />

all over <strong>the</strong> country underlines <strong>the</strong>e ineffective implementation<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> NAPC’s poverty-reduction and social reform program.<br />

On Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law <strong>of</strong> 1988 (RA 6657):<br />

After RA 6657 was enacted, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> land reform<br />

beneficiaries have not been able to claim land ownership as<br />

provided for by <strong>the</strong> land reform law. Peasants and land reform<br />

beneficiaries are killed and harassed almost daily for asserting<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir Constitutional rights to land ownership. Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> land<br />

reform beneficiaries were even only made aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> law years<br />

after it was enacted. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> true <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cases <strong>of</strong> farm beneficiaries<br />

in Bondoc Peninsula in <strong>the</strong> province <strong>of</strong> Quezon, in Hacienda<br />

Lu<strong>is</strong>ita in Tarlac and in Balasan, Iloilo, as well as in o<strong>the</strong>r similar<br />

cases <strong>of</strong> farmers seeking genuine land reform around <strong>the</strong><br />

country.<br />

On Urban Development and Housing Act (RA 7279):<br />

Although th<strong>is</strong> law requires that relocation sites should be made<br />

available before urban poor villages are demol<strong>is</strong>hed, in practice,<br />

<strong>the</strong>y are not. The AHRC <strong>is</strong> aware <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> cases where<br />

urban poor villages have been illegally and violently demol<strong>is</strong>hed,<br />

with villagers being denied relocation sites and losing <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

livelihood due to <strong>the</strong>se forced evictions. Take <strong>the</strong> case we sent<br />

to your <strong>of</strong>fices regarding <strong>the</strong> settlers in Dacudao Compound in<br />

Agdao, Davao City in March 2005 and in Mactan, Lapu-lapu City<br />

in September 2006. These state-perpetrated forced evictions<br />

have had a significant negative impact on <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> affected<br />

article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1 175

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