The Amnesty International is disappointed about the government’s lack of a human rights action plan.

It also lamented the alleged slow pace by which the Commission on Human Rights has established human rights desks in the barangays.

Human rights desks remain under a regional set-up because of lack of funds, said Wilnor Papa, Amnesty International-Philippines program coordinator for campaigns.

The AI was in Baguio last week to present the human rights situation in the country.

The field staff of the CHR, he said, has failed to make their presence known in the community, especially in far-flung rural areas.

He stressed the body created by the government to uphold and educate the public about their rights has to make their presence stronger.

The Barangay Human Rights Action Center Program (BHRAC) is a nationwide mobilization program for human rights protection and advocacy at the barangay level. It has been conceived so that the CHR will be within the reach of the people, especially in the far flung areas.

As of 2002, there is a total of 14,408 BHRACs established all over the country. There are 42,026 barangays as of Aug. 1, 2007, the National Statistical Coordination Board reported in its website.

Papa added lack of human rights centers in the barangay reflects on the overall human rights situation of the country. He said the national human rights action plan remain a draft.

“We hope the inputs they gathered include rehabilitation for convicts and their victims, as well as programs on enforced disappearances.

The national human rights action plan is divided into 15 priority categories. These are: women, children, youth, indigenous cultural communities, Muslims, elderly, persons with disabilities, mentally disabled persons, detainees, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, public sector labor, private sector labor, informal labor sector, and urban poor.