Pangilinan calls for speedy passage of human rights bills

Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan asked Congress yesterday to facilitate the passage of human rights bills.

Pangilinan cited the recent study by the Human Rights Watch showing the country has to shore up its performance in the protection of human rights.

"The Philippines remains the bastion of democracy in Asia. For what it’s worth, we fared better compared to our Asian neighbors. But we still have a lot to do to improve our records and even more to rectify the wrongdoings of the past," he said.

Pangilinan, as former chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, has authored some human rights-related bills, including the celebration of the National Human Rights Week which was recently enacted into law.

He said Congress should show its commitment by enacting several measures on the protection of human rights.

Among the pending bills include the proposed compensation of human rights victims during the martial law regime of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, strengthening the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), criminalization of torture, and the Involuntary Disappearance Act (Find bill).

"We need to strengthen regional coordination to address the deteriorating human rights records in Southeast Asia particularly in Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam," Pangilinan said.

The senator also emphasized the need for a regional mechanism to monitor human rights violations and promote adherence and respect to established protocols and agreements.

Pangilinan said human rights violations stemming from gender bias in labor practices and employment will also be the subject of an inquiry of the Senate.

"In principle, I agree that there is a need to push for amendments in the Labor Code which prohibits women from working at night," Pangilinan said.

"Human rights-related issues and legislation is where Congress displays its compassion and wisdom. We must maintain a healthy balance between pushing for economic and political development with that of raising the bar of human development," he added.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the government must consider the removal of exemptions and further preventing leakage in the collection of value added tax (VAT) instead of pushing for a legislated increase.

Pimentel said it would be difficult to justify the increase in the rate of VAT from 10 to the proposed 12 percent on the sale of goods and rendering of services if the government does not expand its coverage or remains lax in collecting the tax deductible from business establishments.

He cited the study made by the Department of Finance (DOF) that the government failed to collect 49.4 percent of the tax in 2001.

"I dared Malacañang to show what measures have been done to plug leakages in the VAT collection system that has deprived the government of tens of billions of pesos in revenues every year," Pimentel said.

The opposition lawmaker said that while economic managers project P40 billion would be collected from the implementation of the additional two percent VAT, this would be done at the expense of the public "already neck deep" struggling to keep up with the spiraling costs of essential goods and services.

Pimentel warned the government against implementing another round of tax increases against the people who are already fed up with the imposition of what he called "onerous and oppressive taxes."

He said the opposition bloc in the Senate would always be guided by the stand of the people against the implementation of regressive taxes and would only support "progressive and equitable" tax measures that are "least harmful to the masses."

Pimentel lauded administration Sen. Ralph Recto, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, who announced earlier that he would conduct public hearings on the proposal to increase VAT to get the widest response from the public.