TRAINING ON ESCR FOR WESTERN VISAYAS HELD

The “TRAINING ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL & CULTURAL RIGHTS (ESCR) FOR WESTERN VISAYAS” was held on July 17-20, 2018 at the N Hotel in Iloilo City.

After the Opening Program, Ms. Tracy Pabico of PAHRA facilitated the session on Context & Framework, which discussed Human Rights and ESCR, gave an introduction to Business and Human Rights (BHR) and local laws and policies related to ESCR.

The next session focused on specific obligations, roles and responsibilities on ESCR. There were 3 speakers for the session: Ms. Christa Balonkita of the CHR discussed the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the National Action Plan; Ms. Chiqui Pamanog of NEDA VI discussed the Regional Development Plan and the AmBisyon Natin 2040; and Capt. Emily Salas of the AFP Human Rights Office discussed the Development Support and Security Plan (DSSP) Kapayapaan.

Next came 3 ESCR thematic sessions. The first session was on Agrarian Reform and was facilitated by Francisco Pandan, Jr (KAISAHAN). The second thematic session was on Mining and was facilitated by Atty. Gian Arabejo (ALG). The third thematic session was on Indigenous Peoples and was facilitated by Mr. Shandrei Guevarra (ALG intern).

On the last day, there was a Regional Level Policy Dialogue to discuss “Federalism & Charter Change.” The resource speaker was Atty. Cedric Jaranilla of the DILG VI.