COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Forty-first session
Geneva, 3-21 November 2008
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT
PHILIPPINES
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
1. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered the combined second to fourth periodic reports of the Philippines on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/PHL/4) at its 39th, 40th and 41st meetings, held on 11 and 12 November 2008 (E/C.12/2008/SR.39-41), and adopted, at its 56th meeting held on 21 November 2008, the following concluding observations.
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the combined second to fourth periodic reports of the Philippines, which was generally prepared in conformity with the Committee’s guidelines, but regrets the 11-year delay in its submission. The Committee also welcomes the written replies to its list of issues (E/C.12/PHL/Q/4/Add.1), and the open and constructive dialogue with the delegation of the State party, which included representatives of various government departments with expertise on the subjects covered by the Covenant.
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B. Positive aspects
4. The Committee notes with satisfaction that the State party has ratified, or acceded to, all United Nations core human rights treaties.
5. The Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption of several measures to prohibit all forms of discrimination against women and promote equality between men and women, including:
(a) The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development, 1995-2025;
(b) The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7877);
(c) The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9208); and
(d) The Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9262).
6. The Committee also notes with satisfaction the various legislative, administrative and policy measures adopted by the State party to recognize, protect and promote the individual and collective rights of the indigenous peoples living in the territory of the State party, including
(a) The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8371);
(b) The Free and Prior Informed Consent Guidelines, adopted by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in 2002, which emphasise the right of indigenous peoples to participate in decisions affecting them; and
(c) Executive Order 270-A, which aims at safeguarding the ecological integrity of indigenous lands and resources from the negative impact of mining operations.
7. The Committee welcomes the efforts undertaken by the State party to protect and promote the rights of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), inter alia, through the adoption of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 (Republic Act 8042), the conclusion of bilateral agreements with countries of destination and the promotion of voluntary social security schemes for OFWs.
8. The Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption of the Anti-Squatting Repeal Act of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8368), which decriminalises squatting as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (E/C.12/1995/7, para. 31).
9. The Committee notes with satisfaction the legislative framework and institutional mechanisms established by the State party for the protection of the environment and the improvement of environmental and industrial hygiene.
10. The Committee welcomes the recent ratification by the State party of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It also notes with satisfaction the ratification of ILO Conventions No. 182 (1999) on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and No. 29 (1930) on Forced Labour.
C. Factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the covenant
11. The Committee notes the absence of any significant factors or difficulties preventing the effective implementation of the Covenant in the State party.
D. Principal subjects of concerns and recommendations
12. The Committee remains concerned that Covenant provisions are seldom invoked before or directly enforced by national courts, tribunals or administrative authorities, in spite of the fact that, pursuant to article II, section 2, of the 1987 Constitution, the Covenant is regarded by the State party as "part of the law of the land”.
The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general comment No. 9 (1998) on the domestic application of the Covenant, and recommends that the State party take all appropriate measures to ensure the direct applicability of the Covenant provisions in its domestic legal order, including the organization of training programmes for judges, lawyers and public officials. The Committee also requests the State party to include detailed information on decisions of national courts, tribunals or administrative authorities giving effect to Covenant rights in its next periodic report.
13. The Committee is concerned that the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights is not included in the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP). It also notes with concern the lack of adequate financial resources available to the CHRP for the implementation of its investigative and monitoring functions.
The Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP), inter alia, by including the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights in its mandate and by allocating adequate financial resources for the implementation of the Commission’s investigative and monitoring functions. In this regard, the Committee calls on the State party to move expeditiously towards the adoption of the CHRP Charter.
14. The Committee notes with concern that, despite the efforts undertaken by the State party to curb corruption, including the establishment of a number of anti-corruption bodies such as the anti-corruption court, this phenomenon continues to be widespread.
The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to prosecute cases of corruption and review its sentencing policy for corruption-related offences. It also recommends that the State party train the police and other law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges on the strict application of anti-corruption laws, conduct awareness-raising campaigns, and ensure the transparency of the conduct of public authorities, in law and in practice. The Committee requests the State party to provide in its next periodic report detailed information about progress made, and obstacles encountered, in combating corruption and impunity.
15. The Committee remains concerned about reports that forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings of trade union activists, indigenous leaders, peasant activists advocating for the implementation of the agrarian reform and human rights defenders engaged in defending the economic, social and cultural rights of their communities continue to occur, despite the measures adopted by the State party - including the creation of the Task Force Against Political Violence - to tackle these phenomena. The Committee is particularly concerned about the limited progress made by the State party in investigating cases of forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings and in prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes.
The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures for the protection of trade union activists, indigenous leaders, peasant activists and human rights defenders engaged in defending the economic, social and cultural rights of their communities against any intimidation, threat and violence, whether perpetrated by State security forces and agents or non-State actors. It also calls on the State party to ensure that all alleged cases of forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings are promptly and thoroughly investigated, and that alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and appropriately punished, if found guilty. The Committee requests the State party to provide, in its next periodic report, detailed information on the progress made in preventing and punishing forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings.
16. The Committee notes with concern the adverse effects that economic activities connected with the exploitation of natural resources, especially mining operations, carried out in indigenous territories continue to have on the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral domains, lands and natural resources, as recognized in the 1997 Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). The Committee is concerned about the conflict of laws between the 1995 Mining Act and IPRA, and notes in particular that section 56 of the IPRA, which provides for the protection of property rights already existing within the ancestral domains, de facto risks to undermine the protection of the rights recognized to indigenous peoples under the Act. (arts. 1, 11, 12 and 15)
The Committee urges the State party to fully implement the 1997 Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), in particular by ensuring the effective enjoyment by indigenous peoples of their rights to ancestral domains, lands and natural resources, and avoiding that economic activities, especially mining, carried out on indigenous territories adversely affect the protection of the rights recognized to indigenous peoples under the Act.
17. The Committee notes with concern that, in spite of a high GDP growth rate, the national spending on social services such as housing, health and education remains low, and has in fact decreased over the years. (art. 2, para. 1)
The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its statement on “An evaluation of the obligation to take steps to the ‘maximum of its available resources’ under an Optional Protocol to the Covenant” (E/C.12/2007/1), and recommends that the State party increase its national spending on social services such as housing, health and education so as to achieve, in accordance with article 2, paragraph 1, the progressive realization of the economic, social and cultural rights provided for in the Covenant.
18. The Committee notes with concern that the State party has not made sufficient progress in reviewing and repealing discriminatory provisions against women still existing in national legislation. The Committee regrets that the Marital Infidelity Bill, which seeks to remove the discriminatory provisions in the Revised Criminal Code pertaining to “concubinage” and “adultery”, has not yet been adopted. The Committee also regrets that the interpretation of the provisions of the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 1083) permits polygamy and the marriage of girls under the age of 18, and that forced marriages are still tolerated in certain par