House Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima—along with lawmakers from both Houses of Congress across party lines—led the relaunch of the Mambabatas para sa Karapatang Pantao (Makatao) Coalition to push for legislation promoting human rights.
De Lima, who serves as lead convenor of the group, stated that the Makatao Coalition will “serve as an active and progressive sentinel for the protection of human rights in the Philippines and act as a bridge between national and local lawmakers and civil society, ensuring that legislation reflects the realities on the ground.”
“This is a renewed call to solidarity and courage in the fight for human rights and human dignity. Together, we commit to ensuring that human rights remain the foundation of our laws, our governance, and our national development, as well as to striving to keep Philippine laws aligned with our international human rights obligations,” De Lima said.
The development comes in celebration of Human Rights Defenders Day, and on the eve of International Human Rights Day.
Aside from De Lima, members of the coalition include Sens. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, as well as Reps. Ziaur-Rahman Alonto Adiong, Arlene Bag-ao, Lorenz Defensor, Edgar Erice, Cielo Krisel Lagman, Gerville Luistro, Bella Vanessa Suansing, and Alfonso Umali Jr.
They also include Akbayan party-list Reps. Jose Manuel Tadeo Diokno, Percival Cendaña, and Dadah Kiram Ismula, Kamanggagawa party-list Rep. Elijah San Fernando, and Makabayan bloc Reps. Renee Louise Co, Sarah Jane Elago, and Antonio Tinio.
The Makatao Coalition was established on Mar. 19, 2018, with the late representative Edcel Lagman as its convenor, as a national network of legislators from the Senate, the House, and local legislative bodies.
During the relaunch, members of the coalition, including De Lima, Co, Elago, Erice, Lagman, San Fernando, Tinio, and Umali, filed House Bill 6686 or the proposed “Truth Commission on Extrajudicial Killings Act” as part of their priority legislative agenda.
This measure seeks to create an independent truth commission mandated to investigate extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, uncover their causes, patterns, and consequences, complement existing accountability mechanisms such as the Ombudsman, Department of Justice (DOJ), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and the courts, as well as recommend institutional reforms to guarantee that such violations never happen again.
Other priorities in the legislative agenda of the Makatao Coalition include the Human Rights Defenders Bill, the Anti-Extrajudicial Killings Bill, and the CHR Charter Bill.
