MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Commissioner Roberto Eugenio Cadiz raised the potential chilling effect of the show-cause order issued by the House committee on justice over his recent comments on the impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

“It appears to be, at best, an attempt by public officials to exact punishment over what they perceive to be a personal slight,” he said in a letter addressed to Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali. “At worst, it may be interpreted as yet another attempt to silence criticism in a pattern of closing democratic space.”  

On November 27, the House committee asked Cadiz why he should not be cited in contempt after he said on November 20 that the “law of the jungle” seemed to be prevailing as the impeachment hearing continued.

Expressing disbelief that his comments would warrant being cited in contempt, Cadiz said the House of Representatives should be aware of how the order might contribute to the “observable pattern of closing of democratic space.”

He, however, stood by his opinion that the proceedings “are based on the tyranny of numbers and political interests of the supermajority, rationalized by a flimsy invocation of the law.”

“I stand by my constitutional right to express that opinion and respectfully challenge the committee on justice to prove it wrong rather than engage in dubious exercise of power to trounce that right,” Cadiz said.

‘CHR knows it well’

Cadiz also warns against the possible implication of the order issued by the legislators. 

“If I, as a lawyer and commissioner of an independent constitutional body, should be cited for expressing an opinion – adverse to the majority of members of the committee, but certainly not contemptuous – what kind of precedent would that set for people who question the government every day?” Cadiz said. 

“Criticism is necessary in a free democracy, as it keeps officials responsive and accountable to the citizenry, and threats to free speech constitute real threats to democracy itself,” the CHR commissioner added.

He also pointed out to the legislators that it is his constitutional right as a Filipino citizen to “publicly express that concern,” adding that the government officials must be receptive to criticism.

“CHR knows this well. It has been attacked, maligned, and misrepresented, yet it continues to be open to public criticism and take such constructively, as is required in a free democracy,” Cadiz said. “Similar standards of openness ought to apply to the House of Representatives.”

The CHR has been the target of tirades of President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies in Congress as it continues to monitor and call out the killings in the bloody war on drugs. (READ: Demonizing human rights in the first year of Duterte) – Rappler.com