Human Rights in the Philippines

Human rights are moral principles that set out certain standards of human behavior, and
are regularly protected as legal rights in national and international law. They are "commonly
understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply
because she or he is a human being."

Human rights in the Philippines pertain to the concept, practice, and issues of human
rights within the Philippine archipelago. The concept of "human rights," in the context of the
Philippines, pertains mainly (but is not limited) to the civil and political rights of a person living
in the Philippines by reason of the 1987 Philippines Constitution.

In 1948, The Philippines is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(UDHR) drafted by the United Nations (UN). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
adopted, alongside the Genocide Convention and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, by the United Nations in response to the tragic and horrendous
violations of human rights during the Second World War. The United Nations Charter, a treaty,
was created in order to define what roles, powers, and duties the United Nations is allowed to
practice in dealing with international relations. Article I of the UN Charter states that the UN
aims:

"To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic,

social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for
human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion;"

According to the Charter, the jurisdiction of the United Nations is to provide cooperation
among the nations, and not act as an international government. The UN Charter paved the way
for the drafting of the UDHR. The UDHR aims to promote "universal respect for, and the
observance of, human rights." Thus, the UDHR is merely a declaration for each signatory to
adopt to its own political system.

As a signatory to the UDHR, the Philippines then declare an understanding and

adherence of these fundamental and inalienable rights to its population. The Philippines has
adhered to the UDHR through the Bill of Rights, and continued to create laws and policies that
cater to a specific sector, like the Labor Code and the Indigenous Peoples' Rights. It also created
different bodies to address all human rights concerns like the Commission of Human
Rights(CHR) which was established in 1986 by President Corazon Aquino, which was chaired
by former Senator Jose Diokno and former Supreme Court Associate Justice J.B.L. Reyes. A
separate Commission on Human Rights was established upon the promulgation of the 1987
Constitution.