Talisay City College to establish 4th human rights center in CV

The Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas has signed a memorandum of agreement with Talisay City College on Thursday, Feb. 20, for the establishment of the fourth Center for Human Rights Education (CHRE) in the region. | Photo by Niña Mae Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The fourth CHRE or the Centre for Human Rights Education in Central Visayas is set to be established at the Talisay City College.

The Commission for Human Rights (CHR-7) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Thursday, February 20, with Talisay City College, represented by its president, Dr. Richel Bacaltos.

Also present during the MOA signing were CHR-7 Director Arvin Odron, CHR-7 Legal Division Chief Euvic Ferrer, and Talisay City Vice Mayor Richard Francis Aznar.

Integrating human rights in the curriculum of higher education is the pilot program of CHR, Odron said during the media forum.

Odron said that the protection of human rights is actually the obligation of the government. But since the election is near, and a new set of government officials will be elected, priorities will change. That is why they are first piloting their advocacy with the higher academic institutions.

In Central Visayas, there are only four centers for human rights education as of now, which can be found at the University of the Visayas, University of Cebu, and the University of the Philippines-Cebu. All of them signed their MOAs last year.

After the Talisay City College, Odron said that the University of San Carlos also expressed their interest in partnering with the CHR to establish a center in their institution.

Moreover, Ferrer said that CHR’s partnerships are not just about instruction or developing a human rights-friendly curriculum; they also focus on research and extension work.

“We would like to see products of higher educational institutions who are aware and have a certain level of awareness on human rights. Therefore, when they reach, when they’re employed, when they become business leaders themselves, or become leaders in their certain fields, they come into that kind of leadership with already an awareness of how they should deal with other people in the context or in the perspective of human rights,” Ferrer explained.

Aside from that, Ferrer said that their goal is to create a “safe space for learners” in CHREs, ensuring the protection of “women, vulnerable, and marginalized students” in higher education institutions.

Additionally, “research and extension work” are emphasized as essential because they serve as the “backbone for human rights policy development” by uncovering key human rights issues through academic research, he added.

To have a CHRE in an academic institution, Jose Agustus Villano, CHR-7 chief of promotions and advocacy division, said that it should be a higher education institution that is offering courses related to human rights or also has a faculty who is also an advocate for human rights.

Having a CHRE in Talisay City College is beneficial to their local government, said Aznar, as they are “committed in promoting social awareness, respect and understanding” in their LGU.

“So this is a great help, especially that CHR is already here in the City of Talisay partnering with our Talisay City College,” Aznar said.

Meanwhile, Bacaltos, TCC’s president, said that having a CHRE in their city college aligns with their institution’s advocacy and goals.

“So that is the reason why we are very happy that the CHR presented to us the proposal that we will be collaborating, we will be partnering with them…we are inspired now that finally we have this kind of collaboration so that this can be embedded, this can be part of the curriculum, the instruction and probably some other activities that we will be having in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights,” Bacaltos added. /clorenciana

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