CHR Western Mindanao Director Atty. Jose Manuel Mamauag ZAMBOANGA CITY (Commission on Human Rights, Western Mindanao / 11 Jan) The intensified campaign by our local police against the proliferation of illegal and unlicensed firearms and ammunition and prohibited drugs is commendable although the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Western Mindanao is a bit alarmed by this campaign.
A noteworthy guidance for such a campaign would be the pronouncements of the Supreme Court in cases involving search and seizure, and the constitutional guarantees enshrined in the Philippine Constitution against unlawful arrest and search as well as the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom from arbitrary arrest and the right to privacy.
To put emphasis to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Philippines is a State Party, Article 7 of the said International Covenant reads:
“No one shall be subjected arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home, or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honor and reputation.”
“Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
Article 9, paragraph 1 of the same Covenant stipulates that: “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.”
Over the years, the Commission on Human Rights have performed its function in accordance with its constitutional mandate to “monitor the Philippine government’s compliance with international treaty obligations on human rights,” and will continue to do so, with watchful eyes even, if only to make human rights more meaningful to the citizens. (Atty. Jose Manuel S. Mamauag is the regional director of the Commission on Human Rights in Western Mindanao)
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