Is Leila de Lima, New CHR Chair, for Real?

Leila de Lima. (Photo by John Alliage Morales/Inquirer.net)

When Leila de Lima was appointed earlier this month as the new chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, not a few eyebrows were raised. After all, the criticism goes, de Lima is known more as an election lawyer and had virtually no experience in human-rights work. “The sudden news of the appointment has caused serious concerns about the appointment process of the highest officials of the Philippines’ independent human rights body,” notes the human-rights group PAHRA. This is particularly important in the context of criticism of the Philippine human rights record in the past few years, particularly for the high number of extrajudicial executions and disappearances.”

But only a few days after her appointment, de Lima displayed some cojones. She ordered an investigation into the killing (in an alleged shootout) of the alleged suspects in the RCBC robbery-massacre early this month and, the other day, declared that it was a rubout, not a shootout. She also criticized proposals to re-implement the death penalty following the Laguna massacres. De Lima also dared to criticize Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, whom she practically blamed for the alleged rubout, which occurred days after Gonzalez told reporters that a “shoot to kill” order ought to be given against the RCBC suspects.

Then, yesterday, de Lima declared that the armed forces is violating the rights of rebel soldiers. She also said that the CHR was willing to give immunity to soldiers who would testify about the military’s involvement in the killings of leftists, following reports that some soldiers had confessed to some of the murders.

For somebody who barely warmed her seat, these actions and statements are courageous, impressive, probably unprecedented. (When she was sworn in, de Lima did say that she intends to end what she called “institutional cowardice” on human rights.) Let’s just hope that this is not ningas-cogon, that de Lima is motivated by a genuine concern for human rights and not by the need to prove her mettle, or worse, to deodorize the Arroyo regime’s atrocious human-rights record. (Carlos Conde/pinoypress.net)