Lawmaker seeks help for victims of armed conflict

A senior administration lawmaker has sought the approval of a bill seeking to grant reparation to civilians and noncombatants killed or injured in armed conflicts.

Masbate Rep. Scott Davies Lanete, author of House Bill 5814, said an effective reparation law focuses on granting immediate relief to the victims.

“Due to the impunity that follows crimes committed during armed conflicts, the duty to apprehend and prosecute an offender has become difficult, leaving the concept of reparative justice illusory,” Lanete said.

He said the doctrine is stipulated in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/147 or the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

“Our government is mandated to create a system of reparation, which addresses the needs of victims of armed conflict,” he said.

The lawmaker said many victims do not get help, despite the country being a member of the United Nations.

The measure seeks to create the Commission for the Reparation of Armed Conflict and Human Rights Victims, which should be composed of eight members headed by the chairman of the Commission on Human Rights.

The other seven members are the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross and the undersecretaries of the departments of justice, health and education; Presidential Human Rights Committee and Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process, and a member of the Philippine Bar.

Lanete said the members must have a deep understanding of human rights promotion and protection.