The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) cited what it called as “most pressing human rights concerns” during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Foremost of these concerns, the CHR said, are the daily subsistence of the poor and the underprivileged sectors and their access to the government’s health care and amelioration programs.

It said that when COVID-19 health crisis was first reported, the government decided to implement a hard lockdown to keep people from spreading the virus. This translated to community quarantines and travel bans.

“Restrictions on rights for reasons of public health or national emergency be lawful, necessary, and proportionate. Restrictions such as mandatory quarantine or isolation of symptomatic people must, at a minimum, be carried out in accordance with the law," it said.

Since the community quarantines kept Filipinos from going out and making a living, it said, the government should also ensure that target economic relief be given to assist low-wage workers.

"The most vulnerable people are low-wage workers in low-income households. Government should create mechanisms so that workers affected by COVID-19 do not suffer loss of income that might deter them from self-isolating to contain the spread of the virus," it stressed.

At the same time, it said that public health experts have recommended that companies encourage employees to work from home to prevent the virus from spreading.

"But remote work is not an option for millions of workers in fields like retail, restaurants, personal services, the gig economy, and informal sectors," it said.

Since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was implemented anew, the CHR urged the government to include the homeless street dwellers and their families in their recovery program, and consider them in the special amelioration program (SAP) and vaccination drives.

Many Filipinos also struggled with the devastating effects of climate change, natural disasters, and armed conflict in the middle of the health crisis, thus, the CHR urged the government to continue prioritizing humanitarian aid.

It also highlighted issues of lack of water and sanitation facilities which makes the spread of the virus even more likely.

"Lack of potable water and sanitation at home, school, or in healthcare settings will make preventive measures difficult. In some cases, without adequate water and sanitation, these settings themselves may be a locus for the spread of the disease," it said.

There were also reports of activists and media personalities being killed, it added.

"The government has an obligation to protect the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive, and impart information of all kinds, regardless of frontiers," it stressed.