MANILA, Philippines?Police had no justification for using firearms in Wednesday morning?s demolition of a Muslim community in Pasay City, the Commission on Human Rights said.

In a statement Thursday, CHR Chairperson Leila De Lima said that based on media reports and TV news coverage of the demolition, policemen ?not only carried firearms? but also fired their guns during the demolition.

De Lima also cited an INQUIRER report which said Florencio San Mateo, chief of the Pasay Traffic and Parking Management, admitted ?that they had to fire a gun, which wounded a protester, because around 50 settlers were armed with a ?sumpak? or an improvised gun, explosives that looked like molotov bombs, bottles and stones.?

While there have been ?unverified claims? of fatalities among members of the Muslim community, De Lima also said the INQUIRER report quoted Senior Supt. Raul Petrasanta as disputing the claims, saying the police who accompanied the demolition team, fired warning shots but did not aim their guns at any of the protesters.

?The use of firearms is strictly prohibited during demolition operations. The PNP has no justification for the discharge of firearms, whether for the purpose of firing warning shots, disabling or killing protesters,? De Lima said.

De Lima also said the Manual for Philippine National Police Operational Procedures is clear on the conduct of policemen in demolitions.

Rule 19, Sec. 2 of the manual, De Lima said, states that ?all personnel involved shall be in complete uniform and shall desist from the use of any violence or any actuation that may harm, harass, or terrorize the affected parties.?

The manual added that the ?the mode of participation shall be strictly to maintain peace and order during the entire demolition/ejectment activity, ensuring the protection of all parties from harm and injury.?

De Lima also said the use of tear gas and water cannons is only a ?last resort.?

?Given that only non-lethal modes of violent intervention are allowed, such as tear gas and water cannons, and only as a last resort, clearly the PNP, by its own rules, cannot use firearms in demolitions,? De Lima said.

The CHR added: ?I cannot understand what justification the PNP may have in using their firearms for warning shots. Neither can I understand the necessity of firing their weapons to injure protesters, armed or otherwise.?

She also said that the manual already prohibited police officers from firing warning shots.

?Time and again, we have reminded the PNP to adhere strictly to their rules of procedure, which ultimately are designed to protect human rights,? De Lima said. ?It is frustrating to hear that the police superiors themselves openly admit that their personnel violate their own rules.?

De Lima called on the PNP to properly document and identify those who may have used firearms, both from their own ranks and from the demolished community.

On the other hand, De Lima said they also could not turn a ?blind eye? to reports residents of the demolished community used homemade firearms and explosive devices and hurled stones at police.

?No one should take the law into their own hands, and no one should resort to criminal means in the guise of protecting their rights.?

De Lima said the CHR will conduct its own probe into the incident.

?In anticipating a protracted governmental campaign to evict possibly millions of informal settlers, in light of the Supreme Court decision on the Manila Bay case and recent overtures in relation to flooding in the metropolis, we have to ensure that incidents hereafter are conducted strictly within human rights parameters,? De Lima said.