Adonis claims that, as he was not informed of
Adonis vs. Tesoro (G.R. No. 182855, June 5,
2013)
1. Does the conviction of Adonis for defamation
under the Revised Penal Code constitutes an
unlawful restriction of his right to freedom of
expression under Article 19 of the Covenant?
Article 19
-Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions
without interference.
-Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas
of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally,
in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of his choice.
-The exercise of the rights provided for in
paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special
duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be
subject to certain restrictions, but these shall
only be such as are provided by law and are
necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of
others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of
public order (order public), or of public health or
morals.
The Committee considers that, in this case the
sanction of imprisonment imposed on Adonis
was incompatible with Article 19, paragraph 3,
of the Covenant.
2. Does his right to legal aid recognized by
Article 14, paragraph 3(d), of the Covenant has
been violated?
Article 14
(3) In the determination of any criminal charge
against him, everyone shall be entitled to the
following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend
himself in person or through legal assistance of
his own choosing; to be informed, if he does
not have legal assistance, of this right; and to
have legal assistance assigned to him, in any
case where the interests of justice so require,
and without payment by him in any such case if
he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
His right to legal aid has been violated because
he was not notified of his counsel's withdrawal
of service, and as a result, he had no counsel
to represent him before the Regional Court.
3. Does his right to be tried in his presence,
recognized in Article 14, paragraph 3(d), of the
Covenant has been violated, given that he was
convicted in absentia?
the resumption of proceedings against him and
was convicted in absentia, his right under
Article 14, paragraph 3, to be tried in his
presence was not respected. The Committee
recalls its jurisprudence that proceedings in the
absence of the accused may in some
circumstances be permissible in the interest of
proper administration of justice.
4. Whether or not the Adonis case is
admissible under the Optional Protocol to the
Covenant?
The Human Rights Committee has considered
the present communication in the light of all the
information received to be in accordance with
Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol.
1. The Committee shall consider
communications received under the present
Protocol in the light of all written information
made available to it by the individual and by the
State Party concerned.
By letter dated May 17, 2010, Adonis notes
that he has complied with the requirements of
exhaustion of available remedies, which has
not been disputed by the State.
5. What are the considerations of the Human
Rights Committee on the merits of this case?
The Human Rights Committee, acting under
Article 5, paragraph 4, of the OP-ICCPR is of
view that the facts before them disclose a
violation by the Philippines of Article 14,
paragraph 3, and 19 of the Covenant, and the
Committee considers that the State party is
under an obligation to provide the author with
an effective remedy, including adequate
compensation for the time served in prison.
ROHINGYA CRISIS QUESTIONS
1. What is Ethnic Cleansing
Answer: a purposeful policy designed by one
ethnic or religious group to remove by violent
and terror-inspiring means the civilian
population of another ethnic or religious group
from certain geographic areas**
2) What is Genocide
Answer: any of the following acts committed
with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group
3) The country which received the biggest
influx of Rohingya Refugee is
Answer: Bangladesh
4. ARSA is a militant group allegedly aimed to
liberate and protect the welfare of the Rohingya
People. What does ARSA stands for?
Answer: Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army
5. List at least 5 Human Rights Abuses
Rohingya People experienced
Answer: Denial of Citizenship, Restriction of
movement, Arbitrary Confiscation of property,
Forced Labor, Denial of access to higher
education, State sponsored violence
Paco Larranaga Case
1.What may happen to the Philippines if they
will not obey the transfer treaty that they signed
for the transfer of Paco Larrañaga to Spain?
Answer: The Philippines might be branded a
rogue state if it did not comply with the
provisions of the treaty. Rouge state is a term
applied by some international theorists to
states they consider threatening to the world's
peace. To be classified as a rogue state, a
state had to do the following: seek to obtain
weapons of mass destruction, support
terrorism, and severely abuse its own citizens.
2. What were the alleged rights violated by the
Philippines to Paco Larranaga and his co-
accused?
Answer: The rights violated were (a) right to be
assisted by counsel at every stage of the
proceedings; (b) right to confront and cross
examine the prosecution witnesses; ( c) right to
produce evidence on their behalf; and (d) right
to an impartial trial.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signs Republic Act
No. 9346, which abolished the use of capital
punishment. And in March 2007, a court order
recognized that Paco Larrañaga was not
precluded by the decree abolishing the death
penalty to consideration for parole. However,
on the third obligation, there were no proofs
that the Philippines took measures in
preventing similar violations of the ICCPR.
5. What was the argument of the Philippines on
their alleged violations of Paco’s rights as well
as his co-accused?
Answer: The Philippines argued that the
decision of the Philippine Supreme Court in
People vs. Larranaga clearly shows that Mr.
Larranaga was accorded a fair trial and his
rights as an accused were duly safeguarded.
On the contrary it was the accused who
contributed to the delay in the proceedings and
made a mockery of the judicial process, which
were cited in the decision.

3. What is the basis of Paco Larrañaga’s

transfer to Spain?
Answer: The Philippines signed with Spain
Treaty No.112 (Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons) on November 2007. The
Convention is primarily intended to facilitate the
social rehabilitation of prisoners by giving
foreigners convicted of a criminal offense the
possibility of serving their sentences in their
own countries. It is also rooted in humanitarian
considerations, since difficulties in
communication by reason of language barriers
and the absence of contact with relatives may
have detrimental effects on a person
imprisoned in a foreign country

4. The Human Rights Committee is of view that

the Philippines committed several violations of
the ICCPR. The Philippines is under obligation
for the commutation of Paco Larrañaga’ death
penalty sentence, consideration for early
release parole, and to take measures for the
prevention of similar violations in the future.
What did the Philippines complied?
Answer: The Philippines complied with the first
two obligations. On June 24, 2006, President