Gavin Reyes Custodio Human Rights Advocacy

A Comparison of the Writ of Amparo and the powers of the Commission on Human Rights

First of all, both of them seek to protect the basic Human Rights of the people in this country, the Writ of Amparo states that:
SECTION 1. Petition. The petition for a writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and se !rity is violated or threatened with violation by an !nlawf!l a t or omission.

ean!hile, Article "# $ection "% of the &hilippine Constitution says:

Section 18. The Commission on "!man #ights shall have the following powers and f!n tions$ 1. Investigate, on its own or on omplaint by any party, all forms of h!man rights violations involving ivil and politi al rights% &. 'dopt its operational g!idelines and r!les of pro ed!re, and ite for ontempt for violations thereof in a ordan e with the #!les of Co!rt% (. Provide appropriate legal meas!res for the prote tion of h!man rights of all persons within the Philippines, as well as )ilipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive meas!res and legal aid servi es to the !nder*privileged whose h!man rights have been violated or need prote tion%

'he !rit of amparo is e(clusively designed to &R)*)+' human rights violations in the country, compared to the commission,s po!er !hich can seek to prevent human rights violations in the country and -+*)$'-GA') A+. R)C/ )+. R) ).-)$ for violations of human rights in the country0 1ased on the above2 3uoted provisions, the Writ of Amparo is more concerned !ith protecting the life, liberty and security of people, !hile the Commission on Human Rights is tasked to protect A44 Civil and political rights of all persons here in the &hilippines0 the !rit of amparo is a remedy !hich can be enforced by the 5udiciary in other !ords, the courts, !hile the commission on human rights is under the sanction of the e(ecutive department0 Another distinction bet!een the t!o is that the commission on human rights A6 -+-'-A') A+ -+*)$'-GA'-/+ on its o!n, ho!ever, in order to avail of the protection of the !rit of amparo, one must $))7 'H) C/8R',$ H)4&0

-f you compare, the first paragraph of section "% !ith this provision on the rule on the !rit of amparo:
SEC. 1+. Contempt. , The o!rt, -!sti e or -!dge may order the respondent who ref!ses to ma.e a ret!rn, or who ma.es a false ret!rn, or any person who otherwise disobeys or resists a lawf!l pro ess or order of the o!rt to be p!nished for ontempt. The ontemnor may be imprisoned or imposed a fine.

!e can conclude that both the chr and the !rit of amparo can clearly cite a person for contempt for disobeying their orders0 +e(t is that the po!ers of the commission on human rights is 5ust confined to investigationsand making recommendations, but the !rit of amparo gives the courts liberty to render 5udgement on !hether or not there !as really a transgression of the rights of certain individuals as stated by its section "%:
SEC. 1/. 0!dgment. 1 The o!rt shall render -!dgment within ten 2134 days from the time the petition is s!bmitted for de ision.

And lastly, in the Commission on Human Rights, any party can initiate an investigation in order to acsertain !hether or not there has been a violation of Human Rights, but in !rit of amparo, family members are given more priority in protecting the rights of the individual0

Gavin Reyes Custodio "09 .iscrimination is the unfair treatment of individuals based on a certain pre5udice0 )(amples: uslims are al!ays branded terrorists and &irated .*. sellers0 &oor people are al!ays vie!ed as either criminals or drug addicts0 :09 .iscriminating other people undermines the principle of e3uality and degrades the dignity of human beings, this is because discrimination makes a person feel inferior to others, thus ruining his self esteem0

;09 Article /ne and t!o of the 8niversal .eclaration of Human rights specifically states that:

'his provisions e(pressly states that each and everyone is and must be e3ual before the la! in spite of, and despite of any circumstance0

<09'hese Articles in the Constitution state that:

Se tion 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property witho!t d!e pro ess of law, nor shall any person be denied the e5!al prote tion of the laws. Se tion 6. No law shall be made respe ting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free e7er ise thereof. The free e7er ise and en-oyment of religio!s profession and worship, witho!t dis rimination or preferen e, shall forever be allowed. No religio!s test shall be re5!ired for the e7er ise of ivil or politi al rights.

Se tion 11. )ree a ess to the o!rts and 5!asi*-!di ial bodies and ade5!ate legal assistan e shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.

'his specifically states that each and everyone is entitled to do !hat they !ant to do, for as long as it is not in transgression !ith the la! here in our country, it also guarantees a lot of freedom in the our country0 A lot of cases have transpired in the supreme court about this topic and it has al!ays been held that these rights must al!ays be protected0

=09

uslims

!e can attribute this to /sama 1in 4aden and his terroristic activities !hich caused a great tumult in this !orld0 1ecause of this, his muslim brothers are being discriminated against and are being branded as terrorists0 uslims are also being called .*. sellers because of the fact that some of them sell pirated .*.,s0 .isabled> .ifferently Abled people0 A lot of these people are al!ays being discriminated against and being called ?&abigat@ by other people, not being mindful of the fact that they still can do something to help their respective families0 A09 Religious .iscrimination is the unfair treatment of individuals based on their religious practices, for e(ample, our muslim brothers are al!ays being laughed at by our Christian brothers and sisters0 the Be!ish &eople !ere nearly e(terminated by Adolf Hitler,s Holocaust .uring the second !orld !ar0 And !e al!ays tend to laugh at other religious practices that !e cannot understand0 %09 Homose(uals in our City are al!ays being called ? anananggal ng 4akas@ and ? $alot@ and some of them are being called ? 1akla@ out loud though this maybe particularly hurtful to them, most of them 5ust shrug it off and others fight back !ith slur !ords0 C09 'he economically disadvantaged people are being branded the terms ? Hampas 4upa@ and ?patay gutom@0 'hat,s !hy the poor people doesn,t !ant to mingle !ith other people from other social classes0