De Lima backs CHR budget, urges restoration of funding for key initiatives

September 7, 2026

By ABOGADO.COM.PH Staff

Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila De Lima, a former Commission on Human Rights chairperson, fully backed the agency’s 2027 budget and called on Congress to restore funding needed for its programs.

The CHR proposed a P2.74 billion budget, but the Department of Budget and Management brought it down to P1.27 billion in the National Expenditure Program submitted to Congress.

It received no allocation for capital outlay in the proposed 2027 budget.

De Lima said the CHR needs adequate funding to help it carry out its mandate.

“In a democracy, there can be no more important investment than preventing human rights abuses and protecting and promoting human rights,” she said in a statement.

She called on her fellow lawmakers to look at the CHR budget as an “investment in the constitutional guarantees that protect every Filipino.”

During the budget hearing last week, De Lima also reunited with some of her CHR colleagues.

She thanked them for their service and for continuing the effort to protect human rights.

In a democracy, there can be no more important investment than preventing human rights abuses and protecting and promoting human rights.

During the House briefing on the proposed 2027 budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), we expressed our full support for its budget… pic.twitter.com/9gXjTfvgbK

— Leila de Lima (@manayleila) September 3, 2026