CHR to LGUs: Set up human rights center

By Ernie Delgado

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is urging local government units (LGUs) in the Bicol region to establish a center dedicated to human rights protection and advocacy in their communities.

CHR Regional Director Arlene Alangco said that the Human Rights Action Center (HRAC) will manage complaints, provide information, and coordinate efforts on human rights issues at the provincial, city, municipal, and barangay (village) levels.

The CHR, an independent office created by the Constitution with the mandate to investigate human rights violations involving civil and political rights, is ready to craft an agreement with LGUs to set up the HRAC, she said.

Alangco highlighted Albay as the first province in Bicol to establish an HRAC and expressed hope that other LGUs would follow its lead.

“We encourage all provinces, municipalities, and cities, down to the barangay level, to establish an HRAC,” she said during the Philippine Information Agency’s Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas media briefing in Legazpi City, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English.

Among the functions of the HRAC is to provide victims of human rights violations with legal or paralegal assistance and create a support network for their complaints.

In partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, CHR Bicol has instituted barangay human rights action centers (BHRAC) to empower grassroots citizens.

The BHRACs are tasked with promoting grassroots programs that uphold laws against human trafficking, torture, violence against women and children, and furthering gender equality and development.

Alangco said that the CHR had facilitated the formation of barangay human rights action officers (BHRAOs) in Legazpi City into an organization.

However, the group became inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re going to revive it,” she said.

“When the BHRAOs are organized, this is where the barangay’s assistance to victims will begin,” she added.

“Before they come to our office, at least they should have the necessary documents ready and know what information they need. This way, victims will have a clearer understanding of where to start,” she explained.

“Especially for victims of violence or any crime, the first question they often ask is, ‘Who can I turn to for help?’” she noted. (PIA Bicol/Masbate)