The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations chaired by Rep. Elizaldy Co of Ako-Bicol on Thursday ended discussions on the proposed budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for 2023.
The panel’s vice chairperson, Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo cited the CHR for its significant mandate which “not only helps to seek justice for the poor and underprivileged, but also helps maintain stability in communities, which in turn makes the country a more conducive environment for doing business.”
She said Congress fully supports the CHR in the performance of its important mandate. For the fiscal year 2023, the CHR proposed P846.38 million budget or 12.27 percent lower from their previous budget. The Commission received a budget of P964.7 million in the 2022 GAA.
“This represents a P118 million slash or cut from their budget for the current year,” Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong pointed out during the agency’s budget hearing.
She said the number of Filipinos the CHR serves with their set budget is quite impressive, a larger sum of funds would enable them to expand and cover a greater number of vulnerable and underserved, including those who are victims of abuses by state and non-state actors.
Limkaichong, also a vice chairperson on the appropriations committee, rallied support and endorsed the budget of the CHR and its attached agency, the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Museum.
She cited the CHR as “an institution that brings remedy and hope to countless victims across the country.” Limkaichong is the sponsor for the CHR budget in the plenary debates.
CHR Executive Director Jacqueline de Guia meanwhile revealed that the CHR has been without a chairperson and commissioners since May this year.
“The CHR is headed by a chairperson and 4 commissioners majority of whom should be members of the Philippine Bar. They are appointed by the Office of the President. And currently we don’t have the commission en banc. It should have been the 6th term already. All our chairperson and commissioners retired last May 7. They enjoy a full term of 7 years,” De Guia said, quoted by an ABS-CBN News report.
De Guia added that the CHR hierarchy must also demonstrate pluralism, adding that the CHR has communicated with Malacañang on the need to fill up the position but it has yet to act on its request.
