MANILA, Philippines — Human rights groups welcomed the appointment of lawyer Leah Tanodra-Armamento as the Commission on Human Rights' new chairperson who will lead the body in the last months of President Rodrigo Duterte’s tumultuous term.
Tanodra-Armamento was part of the present and fifth Commission en banc. She will serve until May 5—or the unexpired term of former CHR chair Chito Gascon who passed away last year due to COVID-19.
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"[Attorney] Armamento is a career government official who has spent much of her professional life in government, particularly with the CHR since 2015, so she knows how the system works," Human Rights Watch Asia researcher Carlos Conde told Philstar.com.
"We hope she can continue the CHR’s work in making sure that accountability for rights abuses—particularly under Duterte and in the context of the ‘drug war’—is pursued vigorously," he added.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay expressed hope that the new CHR chair will "continue the robust relationship with civil society and communities" developed by Gascon.
For Amnesty International Philippines section director Butch Olano, the challenge for Tanodra-Armamento is to consolidate Gascon’s legacy.
“We expect Chair Leah to carry on protecting the gains achieved by the commission in the last decade,” he said.
Duterte commission
Other members of the fifth Commission en banc—commissioners Karen Gomez-Dumpit, Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana and Roberto Eugenio Cadiz—will also step down by May 5. They were appointed by then President Benigno Aquino III in 2015.
Karapatan raised concern about a CHR entirely made up of Duterte appointees.
"We are concerned on the scenario of Duterte appointing people whose independence, credibility and track record are questionable and who share the same views like he has on human rights," Palabay said.
Under Duterte, the country's human rights institution has faced attacks for condemning his policies and challenges in conducting investigations into the administration's bloody war on drugs.
Conde said that while the fear that an en banc appointed by Duterte might not have the political will to pursue justice for victims of rights abuses is reasonable, the HRW will reserve judgment.
"They may just surprise us. Suffice it to say that more than ever, the role of the CHR in ensuring accountability is ever more important and it is our hope that they rise to the challenge," he said.