MANILA, Philippines ? Despite the Court of Appeals? decision to dismiss the petition for habeas corpus of the 43 health workers accused of being members of the New People?s Army, the Commission on Human Rights will pursue its own investigation into the incident, Chairperson Leila de Lima said Thursday.

De Lima said that the public inquiry on March 18 would look into the legality of the arrests made by authorities on these health workers in Morong, Rizal last February 6, as well as allegations of torture and other human rights violations.

?The illegality of the search, arrest and detention referred to in the CA Decision, which the majority believes is better left for the RTC [regional trial court] and MTC [municipal trial court] of Morong, Rizal to decide, are the same aspects of the case which the CHR will inquire into, as part of mandate to conduct independent investigations,? De Lima said.

De Lima also did not comment on the appellate court decision, saying, ?We will not preempt our own investigation by agreeing or disagreeing with a CA Decision that is not final and executory.?

On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals Special Division dismissed the habeas corpus petition of the health workers, saying that any irregularity in their arrest was corrected with the subsequent filing of criminal charges against the detainees in Camp Capinpin.