Proving Ground

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The European Commission and the Commission on Human Rights have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to launch a project that will improve human rights standards not only in the Philippines , but in other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The MOA, which was signed by EU head of delegation Ambassador Alistair MacDonald and CHR chairperson Purificacion Quisumbing, launched the new EC funded human rights project, which will be implemented by the CHR together with its sister institutions in Indonesia , Malaysia and Thailand .

The 900,000 Euro grant aims to help improve human rights standards in the above-mentioned countries, focusing on human rights issues of common concern to the ASEAN region. The project will try to establish best practices and build towards the establishment of an ASEAN human rights mechanism, which is a significant step in the right direction since Asia is the only region in the world without a human rights mechanism at the regional level, the development of which was just recently incorporated in the ASEAN Charter that was signed by the leaders during the summit in Singapore last November.

When it comes to human rights, the Philippines ' recent track record has been mediocre to say the most. Couple this with the stigma of corruption that has been persistently soiling our image in the international community, it is very easy to have serious misgivings over the success of this project. If this grant, which is the equivalent of 58 million Pesos, is used wisely, judiciously, and as transparently as possible, so that it will be able to achieve the desired results without scandal or accusations of impropriety, it would be a big boost to the often-maligned claims of this administration that this country is the champion of human rights in the region, and that gross corruption is simply a figment of the imagination.*