WHAT ARE THE POWERS OF CHR?

The Commission was created by the 1987 Constitution as an independent office. Its powers and
functions are the following: (Art. 13 Sec.18)

(1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations
involving civil and political rights;

(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations
thereof in accordance with the Rules of Court;

(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within the
Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures and legal aid
services to the underprivileged whose human rights have been violated or need protection;

(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities;

(5) Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for
the primacy of human rights;

(6) Recommend to the Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for
compensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families;

(7) Monitor the Philippine Government's compliance with international treaty obligations on
human rights;

(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of
documents or other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any investigation
conducted by it or under its authority;

(9) Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance of its
functions;

(10) Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and

(11) Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.

IS RIGHT TO LIFE ABSOLUTE?

NO. Although it inheres in every human being, the right to life is not absolute. The Covenant does not
provide an enumeration of permissible grounds for deprivation of life, but by requiring that deprivations
of life must not be arbitrary, Article 6, paragraph 1 implicitly recognizes that some deprivations of life
may be non-arbitrary. For example, the use of lethal force in self-defense. Furthermore, States which
have not abolished the death penalty and which are not parties to the Second Optional Protocol or
other treaties providing for the abolition of the death penalty can only apply the death penalty in a non-
arbitrary manner, with regard to the most serious crimes and subject to a number of strict conditions.

WHAT DOES ART. 6 PROHIBIT?

Art. 6 prohibit arbitrary deprivation of life. Deprivation of life is, as a rule, arbitrary if it is inconsistent
with international law or domestic law. A deprivation of life may, nevertheless, be authorized by
domestic law and still be arbitrary. The notion of “arbitrariness” is not to be fully equated with “against
the law”, but must be interpreted more broadly to include elements of inappropriateness, injustice, lack
of predictability, and due process of law as well as elements of reasonableness, necessity, and
proportionality. In order not to be qualified as arbitrary under article 6, the application of potentially
lethal force by a private person acting in self-defense, or by another person coming to his or her
defence, must be strictly necessary in view of the threat posed by the attacker; it must represent a
method of last resort after other alternatives have been exhausted or deemed inadequate; the amount
of force applied cannot exceed the amount strictly needed for responding to the threat; the force
applied must be carefully directed only against the attacker; and the threat responded to must involve
imminent death or serious injury.

IS DEATH PENALTY IN VIOLATION OF ICCPR?

No. Article 6, paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 implicitly recognize that countries which have not abolished the
death penalty and that have not ratified the Second Optional Protocol are not legally barred under the
Covenant from applying the death penalty with regard to the most serious crimes subject to a number
of strict conditions. Other procedures regulating activity that may result in deprivation of life, such as
protocols for administering new drugs, must be established by law, accompanied by effective
institutional safeguards designed to prevent arbitrary deprivation of life, and be compatible with other
provisions of the Covenant.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ARTICLE 7?

The aim of the provisions of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is to
protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual. It is the duty of the State
party to afford everyone protection through legislative and other measures as may be necessary against
the acts prohibited by article 7, whether inflicted by people acting in their official capacity, outside their
official capacity or in a private capacity.

IS ART. 7 ABSOLUTE?
Yes, because the right against torture is non-derogable. Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment as criminal acts shall apply to all circumstances. A state of war or a threat of
war or any other public emergency shall not and can never be invoked as a justification for torture and
other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

WHAT ARE ACTS OF TORTURE?

Torture shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Physical torture is a form of treatment or punishment inflicted by a person in authority or agent of a
person in authority upon another in his/her custody that causes severe pain, exhaustion, disability or
dysfunction of one or more parts of the body.
(b) Mental/Psychological Torture refers to acts committed by a person in authority or agent of a person
in authority which are calculated to affect or confuse the mind and/or undermine a person's dignity and
morale.