Filipinos' aspiration to have a law banning the use of torture in place in the Philippines.

October 31, 2009

Dear Friends,

It seems the Office of the President officially received the enrolled Anti_torture Bill on the 15th of October, 2009. Hence the necessity for us to recalibrate our countdown by two days. Its is Day 16 today. The 30th day is on the 14th of November.

As unanimously decided by all the members of the Civil Society Watch for the Enactment of the Anti-Torture Law, we held our Press conference yesterday which conveyed the Filipinos' aspiration to have a law banning the use of torture in place in the Philippines.

Here, our two representatives, Mr. Ernesto Anasarias from BALAY, representing the United Against Torture Coalition (UATC), and Director Karen Dumpit of the Commission on Human Rights, firmly pronounced that we are expecting the President to sign the enrolled bill. They also explained the features of the bill detailing the bills intention to protect the people against torture and Ill-Treatment, as well as provide victims, justice, compensations and other forms of redress and restitution. Our representatives also encouraged and called for all stakeholders to have interest and give importance to the crafting of the measure's Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), a vital yet often neglected part of the legislation process. A participative and inclusive IRR formulation process will help guarantee the effectiveness and robustness of the Anti-Torture Law and ensure that this landmark piece of legislation's purpose will surely redound to the lives of the Filipino people.

There was a good media turnout yesterday. The media sector was well represented. Most major dailies, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer, television stations such as GMA7, ABC5 and other networks as well as radio outfits were there to capture what we had to say. The host of media practitioners energetically and astutely put forward many questions.

Our Media Event yesterday is sure to have impact in terms of spurring public opinion and support as well as on convincing our country's leader that this is the correct and moral path to take.

We would like to thank our United Agianst Torture Coalition secretariat, Amnesty International Philippines and the Commission on Human Rights Philippines for the well-oiled and systematic manner in which the media event was organized.

Friends, please find attached our streamer for the event which also represents our upcoming actions in the days to come.

Kindly stand by for further posts on other undertakings to advance the installment of the Anti-Torture Law.

For responses to this notification, kindly make use of opcatph@yahoo.com. Thank you.

All the best to everyone!

Civil Society Watch for the Enactment of the Anti-Torture Law countdown:

DAY 16

Ellecer Ebro Carlos
PDRP-STOV Team
BALAY Rehabilitation Center, Inc.