Guingona files bill protecting rights of internally displaced persons

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III is pushing for the passage of the bill that aims to promote and protect the rights and dignity of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.

Guingona has filed Senate Bill No. 2368, otherwise known as An Act Protecting The Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Penalizing The Acts of Arbitrary Internal Displacement.

The bill proposes that the Philippine government should adopt as State policy a rights-based approach for the promotion and protection of the rights of IDPs in situations of armed conflict, generalized and/organized violence, clan wars, violations of human rights, implementation of development projects and human-made hazards.

In his explanatory note, Guingona said that internal displacement is a humanitarian issue that is always prevalent in the country.

“Internal displacement is a common phenomenon in the Philippines brought about mostly by long-standing insurgencies, as well as natural and man-made calamities, among others,” Guingona said.

He noted that involuntary displacement as a serious social problem that needs to be addressed as it results in loss of lives and properties, psychological trauma, family disintegration, disruption in education, loss of employment, anarchy, and over-all vulnerability, among others.

The proposed measure defines “internal displacement” as an “involuntary movement or forced evacuation or expulsion of any person or group of persons who flee or leave their homes or places of habitual residence, within the national borders to avoid armed conflict, organized violence, violations of human rights, implementation of development projects, natural, human-induced and human-made hazards.”

The bill enumerates prohibited acts of arbitrary internal displacement, such as the following: Based on policies of apartheid, ethnic cleansing; in situations of armed conflict, unless the safety and security of civilians are involved or imperative military reasons so demand; in cases of development projects, which are not justified by compelling and overriding public interest and with proper implementation of return, local integration or resettlement elsewhere of affected IDPs.

Other acts include: cases of natural, human-induced and human-made hazards, unless the safety and health of those affected require their evacuation; when used as a form of collective punishment; in cases of clan wars, unless the safety and security of those civilians not involved in the conflict are endangered; and in violation of the rights of IDPs; in cases where there is malice, bad faith, gross negligence or in any manner causes willful violations of the human rights.

“IDPs should not be considered merely as ‘collateral damage’ of armed conflict or other humanitarian emergencies, as each one of us has a stake in human security and development. It is also sobering to note that every person in the country is susceptible to becoming an IDP,” Guingona said.