A/HRC/36/12 56. Iraq praised the Philippines for its national report and commended it for the reproductive rights act and the recovery care provided in the fight against drugs. 57. Ireland appreciated the commitment to human rights but shared its deep concern at the marked deterioration in the rule of law since the previous review. 58. Italy welcomed and encouraged further efforts in the field of human rights. 59. Japan noted social problems involving violence against women. It offered its support for the development of drug treatment facilities and the formulation of treatment programmes. 60. Kenya commended the Philippines for the steps taken since its first and second reviews and urged it to continue to implement the remaining recommendations. 61. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic commended the Philippines for taking measures to implement the recommendations arising from previous reviews and welcomed the progresses made in protecting the rights of women. 62. In response to questions and comments, the delegation of the Philippines stated that, pursuant to Administrative Order No. 163, non-governmental and civil society organizations had been encouraged to join the efforts of the Government in promoting compliance with human rights obligations. Human rights defenders participated in congressional hearings on the enactment of laws that affected human rights and the enactment of a law defining their rights was under review. 63. The Government respected the independence of the Commission on Human Rights. The President appointed the members of the Commission through a selection process that gave weight to endorsements mostly from non-governmental organizations. The budget of the Commission for 2016-2017 had almost doubled. 64. The Government had established an inter-agency committee to resolve cases of enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the rights to life, liberty and security of person. According to the national definition, extrajudicial killings only involved victims who were members of cause-oriented advocacy groups. Crimes falling outside that definition were treated as regular crimes. 65. An inter-agency committee addressed trafficking in persons, including involuntary servitude. The ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, had been ratified in 2017 and a “child protection compact” had been concluded with a third country to advance the campaign against trafficking in children. 66. Individuals meeting the required criteria continued to avail themselves of the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Programme. 67. The protection and welfare of vulnerable and marginalized groups such as indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, women, children and older persons were at the top of the administration’s agenda and a package of laws addressing their various needs was being considered. 68. Since the previous review, a number of laws had been enacted, including a foster care act and a law mandating emergency relief and protection for children before, during and after disasters and emergencies. The Universal Health Care Act and the Sin Tax Reform Law had been strengthened. 69. Measures ensuring the equal rights of wives in relation to property, among other issues, were pending. An executive order had been issued to fully implement the reproductive health law. Progress had been made in implementing the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Programme and there had been a significant increase in the national contraception prevalence rate and in the provision of free and lifelong antiretroviral therapy for pregnant and breastfeeding women with HIV. 70. The police had implemented an internal mechanism to ensure that personnel responsible for human rights violations such as torture were disciplined. The doctrine of command responsibility had been introduced. Proper procedures were being observed to ensure that torture was not used to extract confessions during investigations. 6