Human Rights Watch calls out Senate to reinstate De Lima as justice and human rights committee chair
A Deputy Director of the Human Rights Watch Asia Division called out the Senate to immediately reinstate Senator Leila De Lima as the chair of the committee on justice and human rights, following her ouster from the post on Monday, Sept. 19.
In a statement released on Sept. 20, Phelim Kine branded the Senate’s move as “blatant” and “craven,” adding that De Lima’s ouster would derail accountability for the rising cases of summary killings in the country.
“The Senate is showing greater interest in covering up allegations of state-sanctioned murder than in exposing them. [D]e Lima’s removal seems intended to cancel the Senate inquiry she initiated into those killings and removes the sole significant official effort to bringing them to an end,” the statement read.
Senator Manny Pacquiao on Monday filed a motion to declare the chairmanship of the committee on justice and human rights vacant. A total of 16 senators voted to remove De Lima from her post less than a week after she presented Edgar Matobato, a self-declared member of the notorious Davao Death Squad before the senate hearing.
Senator Richard Gordon replaced De Lima as chair.
De Lima initiated a senate inquiry on the growing cases of summary killings in the country amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and criminality, which has already claimed the lives of more than 3,000 individuals.
At present, the committee is investigating more than 1,000 confirmed drug-related killings.
The Human Rights Watch is an international and non-governmental organization that monitors and conducts human rights campaigns in about 80 countries.###
