House rights committee gives HR Board more flexibility

March 1, 2017

The House committee on Human Rights approved Wednesday a bill seeking to amend Republic Act 10368 or the “Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013” so the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board will be given more flexibility to deliver on its mandate to give recognition and reparation for victims of gross human rights violations during the Marcos regime.

In a hearing presided by committee vice chairperson Partylist Rep. Sitti Djalia A. Turabin-Hataman of Amin, the panel approved House Bill 4574, authored by Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte of Quezon City and sponsored during the hearing by Rep. Evelina Escudero of Sorsogon).

“This is a priority bill since the law, which we are considering to amend, has given the HRVCB until 2018 to perform its mandate. We look forward to introduce very crucial amendments to the said law,” said Turabin-Hataman.

Escudero said due to the over 75,000 applications from victims and families of victims of human rights violations during former President Ferdinand Marcos’ regime, and to address other unforeseen developments, the bill seeks to amend RA 10368 to give the HRVCB more  flexibility in fulfilling its mandate.

“RA 10766 was enacted to extend the Board’s existence until 2018. However, to maximize and ensure the effectiveness of the HRVCB, certain measures still need to be improved,” said Escudero.

During the hearing, HRVCB Chairperson Lina Sarmiento presented the Board’s accomplishments. She attributed the seemingly slow progress it has made since the Board’s creation to the unexpected huge turnout of claimants and the stringent evaluation and adjudication process set under its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

Of the more than 75,000 claimants, Sarmiento said only around 4,000 cases have been adjudicated. But with the passage of the necessary amendments to the law, she expressed optimism the Board will be able to fulfill its mandate on time.

Escudero said among proposed improvements are: increase in the Board’s yearly appropriations and the budget ceiling to boost its capacity to adjudicate and perform its functions effectively; and the reduction of a mandatory publication of an original list of eligible claimants, from three times to just once, which is expected to hasten reparation.

“It is well within the mandate of the legislative to enact laws that will encourage utmost productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of our lead agency, and through these amendments to RA 10368, we will be able to accomplish such things,” said Escudero, chairperson of the committee on basic education and culture.

In the explanatory note of his bill, Belmonte said several challenges emerged in the implementation of RA 10368 due to unforeseen developments when it was enacted. For instance the HRVCB was initially given only until May 12, 2016 to complete its task. This was addressed with the enactment of RA 10766 which extended the HRCVB’s life until May 12, 2018.

House Bill 4574 proposed to amend Section 13, Paragraph 3 of RA 10368 so that “The Board when necessary, may hire additional contractual employees or contract a service provider to provide services of counselors, psychologists, social workers and public education specialists, among others, to augment the services of the Secretariat.”

Belmonte explained the present law provides a 15 percentage ceiling in contracting additional contractual employees of the HRVCB. This limits the capacity of the HRVCB to adjudicate all the applications and to perform its other necessary administrative and operational functions, considering that it also has a limited personnel complement according to him.

Secondly, the bill seeks to amend Section 14 of RA 10368 so that “The operating budget of the Board shall be funded from the interest of the P10 billion fund, with P10 million as its initial operating budget. Provided that it shall not exceed P100 million per calendar year.”

Belmonte explained that under RA 10368, as amended, the HRVCB has a yearly appropriation of not exceeding P50 million. The over two years operation of the Board showed that said apportionment exposes the HRVCB to the risk of deficit spending in the future.

Thirdly, the bill seeks to amend Section 19 (d) of RA 10368 so that “Within 30 days after the Board has approved with finality all eligible claims pending before it, and after publication of the official list of eligible claimants in two newspapers of general circulation, the award of monetary compensation shall take effect. Provided that, any pending appeal filed by an aggrieved claimant or oppositor before the Board en banc must be resolved by it 60 days before the Board becomes functus officio.”

Lastly, the bill seeks to amend Section 23 of RA 10368 so that “Any opposition to the new application/s pursuant to Section 13 hereof shall only be entertained if such is filed within 15 days from the date of publication of the official list of eligible claimants as may be determined by the Board. The Board shall cause the publication of the official list of eligible claimants only once in at least two national newspapers of general circulation.”

Lawyer Eunice Sta. Maria of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Legal, Legislative and Linkages expressed support for the bill as it “will grant HRVCB with the necessary provisions that will address operational changes to ensure expeditious and judicious delivery of service to its clients”. DMS