56^th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Item 3: Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change

A/HRC/56/46/Add.2: Visit to the Philippines – Report of the Special Rapporteur

Statement of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines

Delivered by Chairperson Richard P. Palpal-latoc

1 July 2024

The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur on climate change and supports their recommendations. We appreciate the resounding endorsement of the previous mandate holder, Mr. Ian Fry, of the findings from our National Inquiry on Climate Change and our efforts to establish an inter-NHRI inquiry mechanism.

We acknowledge the initiatives of the Philippine government in addressing the adverse impacts of climate change on the human rights of marginalized, at-risk, and vulnerable groups and individuals in the country. We welcome the inclusion of an accelerated climate change agenda in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2023 to 2028.  The PDP presents strategies for enhancing ecosystem resilience and enabling a transition to a ‘low-carbon’ economy. We recognize the Climate Change Commission (CCC) for updating the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). We hope the CCC recommends integrating human rights-centered approaches in the NCCAP and measures to hold businesses accountable for any violation of environmental and human rights laws.^[1]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now requires Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs) to submit environmental, social, and governance reports as per SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 2019^[2]. While the submission of reports is mandatory, there is no monitoring tool in place. We recommend requiring PLCs to conduct human rights due diligence to understand their specific human rights risks at any particular point in time and in any specific operating context, as well as the actions it needs to take to prevent and mitigate them, in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). House Bill No. (HB) 451 or the proposed “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Act” seeks to incentivize corporations for their CSR activities. However, to comply with the UNGPs, there is a need to shift from voluntary to mandatory reporting and from a philanthropic-based to a human rights-based approach to business.

We call for a loss and damage mechanism^[3] and the consideration of House Bill No. 9609, or the Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Act, which aims to establish a legal framework to protect communities from climate change-induced losses, damages, and human rights harms; and provide mechanisms for accountability and reparations from those responsible for environmental degradation which accelerate climate change. We also call on Congress to pass the CHR Charter Bill so we can be further empowered to implement our mandate as a NHRI.

Finally, we call the attention of the government to take immediate steps to prevent acts of obfuscation of environmental and climate science which delay, derail, or obstruct just transition to clean energy, and to stop the attacks and reprisals against individuals, civil society, and communities who advocate for rights to food security, development, self-determination, preservation of culture, gender equality and non-discrimination, and who defend against further degradation of the environment brought by unregulated human activity and unsustainable business practices.

Maraming salamat po.

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^[1] Statement of the Commission on Human Rights welcoming the inclusion of an accelerated climate change agenda in the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan, available at https://chr.gov.ph/statement-of-the-commission-on-human-rights-welcoming-the-inclusion-of-an-accelerated-climate-change-agenda-in-the-2023-2028-philippine-development-plan/, (last accessed June 22, 2024)

^[2] SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 2019 – Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly-Listed Companies, available at https://www.sec.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019MCNo04.pdf,  (last accessed June 22, 2024)

^[3] Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, Position Paper on the  Draft Climate Accountability Bill, available at https://chr.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Position-Paper-on-the-Draft-Climate-Accountability-Bill.pdf, (last accessed June 22, 2024)