THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the region is beefing up its rights-based approach in promoting, protecting and fulfilling human rights of every Filipino.
CHR regional director Atty. Alberto Sipaco, Jr. said several programs have been in place and implemented to uphold human rights in the region, especially the most vulnerable sectors.
Sipaco cited visits to jails all over the Davao region to check on the situation of inmates in terms of the state of their prison cells, their food and health condition, as well as the sanitation inside prison cells.
“We would like to find out if the conditions of the inmates who are temporarily deprived of their liberty are humane,” he told the Philippine Information Agency.
He said lectures and inputs on the basics of human rights will also be provided the inmates during the visits.
He said the visit started last week in collaboration with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, local government units, Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health.
Another program centers on the protection of human rights of people internally displaced by war, Sipaco said, referring to victims caught between the conflict of the military and the New People’s Army (NPA) in the countryside.
He said CHR will visit at conflict areas such as Pasian, Monkayo in Compostela Valley to conduct investigation on human rights violation cases.
The visit also aims to identify the needs of internally displaced persons who would be provided with appropriate livelihood projects by local government units.
Sipaco disclosed that between 50 amd 100 families in Compostela Valley are affected by the conflicts.
Apart from the conflicts, the CHR is also closely monitoring the condition of people displaced by natural calamities such as typhoons, landslides and flashfloods.
In the near future, Sipaco said that his office is bent on looking into cases of displacement due to demolition by virtue of massive construction development such as the rise of housing subdivisions.
The visitation activities cover CHR’s programs on advocacy, forum, training and monitoring of cases, he stated.[PIA-11/CARINA L. CAYON]
