The newly formed inter-agency committee will exclusively handle cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the rights to life, liberty and security of persons. Significant as they are, these developments should encourage us, government and NCOs and CSOs together, to revisit the other commitments we made at the first IHL summit some three years ago. These are commitments that deeply relate to our institutional mandates as government rights institution, as civil society and as parties to the armed conflicts in the land. ln the end, these commitments and the challenges that come with them will be our measure of readiness to craft a National Agenda on lnternational Humanitarian Law that will fuse and further our efforts and that I believe instrumenialities, as an independent national human will mark the success of this activity. Again, on behalf of Executive Secretary Ochoa, Chairperson of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, I welcome you to Malacanang and to the Second National Summit on lnternational Humanitarian Law. OPENING REMARKS No. 9851, also known as the Act on Crimes against lnternational Humanitarian Law, Cenocide and other Loretta Ann P. Rosales Crimes against Humanity, on 11 December 2009. lts Chairperson Commission on Human Riqhts (CHR) the centerpiece legislation showing the Philippines adherence to the principles of IHL Our commitment was fudher bolstered through our accession to the This yeais theme, Towards the Philippine Program of Rome Statute which was mentioned already by Usec Action on Effecting lnternational Humanitarian Law, stems from the recommendations of the firsi summits participants back in 2009, that stressed the need to thus becoming the 117th member of the Rome Statute System. lts quite noteworthy too that the related domestic legislation of an act penalizing torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading institutionalize IHL in the Philippines, Its a fitting theme forthe achievements we have attained so far. Foremost of these is, of course, the enactment of Republic Act Pilando, treatment or punishment Republic Act No. 9745,was also enac[ed on 10 November 2009. I M t- il _f Itaguyod ang IHL: Sibilyan Pangalagaan