The House of Representatives has decided to restore the proposed budgets of three government offices, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Energy Regulatory Commission, and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), House Committee chair Karlo Nograles announced on Wednesday, September 20.
The House initially gave the three bodies a measly P1,000 budget for 2018 due to corruption allegations and “failure to do their jobs”.
Rep. Nograles said this development unfolded after CHR Chair Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon, ERC Commissioner Geronimo Sta. Ana, and NCIP Chair Leonor Oralde-Quintayo sought the help of House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas to “act as a bridge” between them and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
According to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) report, Gascon agreed to extend CHR’s investigations beyond human rights violations allegedly committed by state agents to also include other groups who victimize members of the police, the military, and civilians.
“The Speaker basically told Chairman Gascon that we are not the enemy. The Duterte government is not the enemy. We are one with the CHR in the fight against all forms of human rights violation but they must start looking also at the violations committed by criminals and insurgents,” Nograles said.
The ERC and the NCIP also gave their assurance that they will take the necessary steps to fulfill their mandate and fight corruption in their respective offices.
“The dialogue was very frank but cordial. In the end, the Speaker was magnanimous in his decision and gave the green light to restoring their budget,” Nograles added.
The restoration of the budget for the three agencies would be reflected in the final version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for approval in the third reading.
Source: Philippine News Agency (PNA)
