The Human and Peoples' Rights Declaration of the Philippines

PREAMBLE
 
We, peoples of the Philippines, give highest value to the dignity and fullness of life of
the human person and share a common aspiration for human rights—even as we speak
different languages and dialects, profess different spiritual beliefs and uphold
different ideologies.
 
Ours is a history of revolutionary struggle against all forms of oppression for national
freedom, justice, equality and peace. The same struggle and aspirations for freedom
and respect for human rights have inspired our collective spirit to become a nation
proud of our heritage and diverse culture. Today, we rekindle the same revolutionary
spirit in our struggle against the negative effects of globalization, debt burden,
environmental destruction, social inequality and poverty. These make human and
peoples’ rights our foremost concern.
 
We assert that human and peoples’ rights are our fundamental, inherent and
inalienable rights to life, dignity and development. We recognize that these rights are
universal, interdependent and indivisible and are essential to fulfill and satisfy our
civil, political, economic, social, cultural, spiritual and environmental needs. They are
what make us human.
 
The growing democratization process and human rights consciousness as exemplified
in the active participation and assertion of civil society have served as tools in
opposing all forms of human rights violations and all forces that block our
development as individuals and as a nation.
 
Therefore, we hereby proclaim by this declaration, the basic standards for the
protection, promotion, respect and fulfillment of human and peoples’ rights by the
State.

INDIVIDUALS, SOCIETY AND THE STATE

 
1. We have the natural right to life and liberty and are equal in dignity. Equal concern
and respect for these basic rights should be guaranteed, protected and upheld by the
State.
 
2. The State has the duty to safeguard and assure the dignity of its peoples as
individuals and as members of communities and ensure their capacity for self-
development. The State should formulate policies, enact laws and provide mechanisms
that are in conformity with universal human rights standards.
 
3. The State has the obligation to provide the highest standard of living for its citizens
by eradicating social, economic, political, cultural, ethnic and gender inequalities. In
the determination and implementation of laws and policies, the government must
always respect and consider the concerns of women, children and youth, persons with
disabilities, the mentally challenged, older persons, indigenous and Moro peoples, the
urban and rural poor, farmers and fisherfolk, workers - local and overseas, public or
private, whether formally employed or not, displaced families and communities and
other vulnerable sectors, with the view to ensuring their empowerment.
 
4. The diversity and plurality of the Philippines must be safeguarded through respect
and tolerance. The State must respect and promote harmony and understanding
between and among individuals, communities and peoples. It must uphold non-
discrimination among peoples regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender,
physical ability, sexual orientation, social beliefs and political convictions. Cultural
traditions and institutionalized power shall not serve as justification for any form of
violence, abuse, neglect, or deprivation of human and peoples’ rights.
 
CIVIL RIGHTS
 
5. We have the right to life, liberty, security and property. We have the right to a
transparent, credible, competent and impartial justice system, free from influence and
corruption, where wrongs are redressed and justice is dispensed fairly, speedily and
equitably. We must have equal access to the courts and adequate legal assistance. We
must be treated equally before the law regardless of our political, social and economic
status.
 
6. We have a right to the security and privacy of our persons and our homes. The State
shall respect and uphold our right to the privacy of communication, information,
private transactions and affairs. The State shall ensure our freedom of movement and
liberty of abode.
 
7. The requirements of due process of law shall be observed before, during and after
trial. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty and shall enjoy the right
against self-incrimination, the right to an independent and competent counsel
preferably of his or her own choice, and the right to be informed of such rights.
 
8. Detainees and prisoners have the right to humane conditions of detention with
adequate food, space and ventilation, rest and recreation, sanitary and health services,
and skills training. They have the right to communicate with counsel, family and
friends and be visited by them. The right to practice their religious beliefs and to
express themselves shall likewise not be denied. The State must provide separate
detention facilities for women and children in conflict with the law. Detainees and
prisoners shall be given the opportunity for correction and rehabilitation towards their
reintegration into society.
 
9. No person shall be subjected to arrests, searches, seizures and detention without
due process of law. No suspect, detainee or prisoner shall be subjected to torture,
force, violence, intimidation, harassment or threats. No accused shall be subjected to
trial by publicity. Neither shall cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment
or incommunicado or solitary confinement be imposed.
 
10. We have the right against involuntary disappearances. The State shall protect its
citizens from all forms of systematic and massive extrajudicial and summary killings.
The State shall take responsibility for all the acts of its State agents and give
information and assistance to the families of the disappeared.
 
POLITICAL RIGHTS
 
11. We have the right to live in a democracy and are entitled to enjoy its benefits. The
right to meaningful representation, participation and decision-making about individual
and community concerns shall be recognized and maintained. The protection of life,
liberty and property, the upliftment of economic conditions and the promotion of the
general welfare are essential prerequisites of a truly democratic society.
 
12. Public office is a public trust. Transparency, accountability, integrity and
competence are minimum standards of good governance. It is the State’s duty to
eliminate graft and corruption at all levels of the bureaucracy. Towards this end, our
right to information on matters involving public interest shall be safeguarded.
 
13. We have the right to determine, participate, intervene and take action in all
matters that directly and indirectly affect our welfare. The freedoms of speech, press,
association and peaceful assembly shall at all times be recognized and protected by
the State.
 
14. The State shall provide equal access to opportunities for public service to all
competent and qualified citizens. The State must equitably diffuse political power and
prohibit political dynasties in accordance with democratic principles.
 
15. Sovereignty resides in the people. We reserve the right to defy a tyrannical,
oppressive and corrupt regime by means consistent with general principles of human
rights.
 
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
 
16. We have the right to enjoy the highest standard of health. The State shall ensure
that its citizens shall be adequately nourished and free from hunger. The State has the
obligation to establish a responsive social housing program and protect the people
from unjust evictions from their homes. Protection and assistance shall be accorded
marginalized families and vulnerable sectors of society.
 
17. We have the right to a free, accessible, relevant, nationalistic, quality, gender and
culturally sensitive education, responsive to our needs, which advances the culture of
human rights.
 
18. The State must establish a responsive social welfare system that contributes to the
continuous improvement of its people and their lives. All public utilities should be
accessible and affordable to meet the peoples’ basic necessities.
 
19. Children and youth have rights to special care, education, health, and protection
against all forms of abuse, discrimination, exploitation, corruption, and conditions
affecting their moral development. The best interest of the child shall always take
precedence in State policies and laws.
 
20. Women are partners of men in nation building. They have equal rights in civil,
political, social, and cultural aspects of life. The State shall protect and defend them
from discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, assault, battery and other forms of
abuse and violence.
 
21. Men and women have reproductive rights. The State shall recognize the rights of
all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and
timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right
to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. The State shall also
recognize the rights of couples in making decisions regarding reproduction free of
discrimination, coercion and violence, as expressed in human rights documents.
 
22. The indigenous and Moro peoples have the right to equality with all other peoples
and against all forms of discrimination. They have the right to existence as distinct
peoples free from assimilation as well as the right to resist development aggression,
which threatens their survival as a community. Thus, the State shall assist and support
them in the protection and preservation of their culture, language, tradition and belief.
They have an inherent right to their ancestral domain, which must be given urgent
immediate attention and protection by the State and should be respected and defended
by all.
 
23. The State shall accord special protection to persons with disabilities. They have
the right to enjoyment of equal opportunity as well as appropriate and accessible
social services, education, employment, rehabilitation and social security.
 
24. Older persons shall be given preferential treatment by the State. They shall be
given priority in terms of accessible social security and health.
 
ECONOMIC RIGHTS
 
25. We have the right to a nationalistic and independent economic policy protected
from foreign domination and intrusion. We have the right to a self-reliant economy
based on national industrialization. We have the right to resist all forms of oppressive
and unreasonable trade liberalization, to oppose a subservient debt management
strategy, and to repudiate all foreign debts that do not benefit the people. The State
shall develop efficient and effective debt management strategies that will benefit the
people and shall give preferential treatment to local capital.
 
26. We have the right to equal access to employment opportunities and professional
advancement. The labor force is the lifeblood of the country and all workers have the
right to just compensation, dignified and humane working environment, job security,
the right to form and join unions and organizations, to bargain collectively, to go on
strike and to actively participate in political life. Discrimination in the work place,
sexual harassment, slavery, exploitation, and child labor shall not be tolerated.
Moreover, overseas workers have the right to enjoy the basic rights accorded to
workers in their respective host countries, consistent with international labor laws or
standards.
 
27. Land, as a limited resource, bears a social function. The right to own land should
be limited to Filipinos and shall be guided by the principle of stewardship and subject
to the demands of the common good. Peasants shall have the right to own the land
they till through a genuine agrarian reform program including support services.
Landowners shall also be protected from land grabbers through effective legal and
administrative measures.
 
28. Fisherfolk have the right of access to fishing grounds, to protection from foreign
incursions and local large-scale/commercial fishing business, to genuine aquatic
reforms and to the preservation and protection of communal fishing grounds.
 
29. We have the preferential right to the judicious cultivation, utilization, and
preservation of our natural resources which will ensure an ecological balance that can
support and sustain the total physical and economic well being of every person, family
and community.
 
30. The marginalized and vulnerable sectors shall have preferential access/control to
credit and micro-finance, and the right to skills and livelihood training, which shall
contribute to the constant improvement of their lives.
 
COLLECTIVE RIGHTS
 
31. We have the right to self-determination. This right provides us with the freedom to
develop ourselves as peoples, preserve our culture and retain our national identity.
Our peoples shall not be coerced into assimilation, nor shall forced evacuation,
dislocation and displacement resulting from development aggression and other State
policies should be allowed. We have the right to resist any form of political,
economic, social or cultural domination by resorting to any legitimate means.
 
32. We have the right to a clean, safe and sustainable environment that supports an
equitable quality of life. Ecological balance must be preserved in the pursuit of
national development because the capacity of our resources to continue supporting our
daily needs is limited. Collectively, we have the intergenerational responsibility to
protect, conserve and develop our natural environment for the enjoyment of present
and future generations of Filipinos.
 
33. We have the right to a social order, which is conducive to peace and development.
It is the duty of the State to undertake a comprehensive peace process that reflects the
sentiments, values and principles important to all peoples of the Philippines.
Therefore, it shall not be defined by the State alone, nor the different contending
groups only, but by all peoples of the Philippines as one community. The promotion
and protection of our rights must be geared towards international understanding,
solidarity among peoples and nations, and friendship among all racial, ethnic or
religious groups.
 
 
EPILOGUE
 
Human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible. They are dynamic and
continue to evolve in response to the growing needs, concerns and aspirations of
individuals and communities. These rights are enriched in the course of the struggle
for their full recognition. The human and peoples’ rights affirmed in this declaration
are wholly consistent with contemporary international standards. Nothing in this
declaration shall be used to negate or deny any other rights – whether specified or
inferred found in national or international human rights instruments.
 
The promotion of human and peoples’ rights is pursued through individual and
collective action. They are the product or purposive struggle and are linked to the real
conditions and concerns of the people. While much has been achieved, much remains
to be done. In this new millennium, there will remain the need for human rights
defenders so long as repressive regimes, systems and structures exist that threaten to
thwart our gains.
 
In our world today, more and more people have become aware and thus aspire to live
in an environment that protects the universal standards of human rights. Human rights
are a source of strength and power for people – they enable us to continue to work for
peace, prosperity, progress and sustainable development. The cause of human rights
enlivens our commitment to the realizations of the fullness of life. This is our
collective task as a people in solidarity with all the people of the world.