By: Abraham Reign Magbiro
Photo courtesy of Erinne Cherrish Polo | Letran Community Volunteers
Students gathered for the “Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A Human Rights Education” seminar on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, organized by the Letran Community Volunteers (LCV), Community Extension Department (CED), in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), to deepen awareness of fundamental rights, and national laws.
Jennifer V. Lopez CHR representative opened the program by defining human rights as inherent and universal, stressing that they are not granted by the government, rather are obligations that must be upheld.
“Human rights are those rights which are inherent in the person’s nature and without which s/he cannot live as a human being,” Lopez said, adding that rights are not gifts from the government, they are an obligation.
Lopez also emphasized equality in rights, stating, “Kung meron ang isa, dapat meron din ang isa,” proving that no one should have more rights than another, while noting that certain rights may be limited under certain conditions.
Vince Gamboa, Chief of the Promotion and Advocacy Division of CHR-NCR, discussed laws addressing sexual harassment and child protection.
He highlighted RA No. 7877 and its expansion through RA No. 11313 or also known as “bawal bastos law” stressing that anyone can be harassed.
Gamboa also cited RA No. 11596, known as “Anti-Marriage Law,” noting global data that around 700 million women alive today were married as children.
In an interview, Gamboa explained CHR’s grassroots approach to awareness
“We try as much to tap into avenues that can actually go down to these communities, such as academic institutions which have NSTP programs that actually are being immersed with CWTS programs. So that’s one avenue. So, that’s one avenue in the hopes that they will become force multipliers,”
The seminar concluded with a call for a collective responsibility in order to protect, uphold, and spread the knowledge regarding human rights for all.