The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has called on government to address violence in Negros, Samar, and in Bicol instead of merely sending additional military personnel to these areas.
CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia on Monday said the recent violence in these areas “demands thorough investigation and expedient justice for the victims.”
“We call on the government to address these problems instead of simply increasing the presence of security forces, which may escalate tension and fuel fear in the community,” De Guia said in a statement.
“We urge the government to pursue development solutions rather than military approach to truly address the long standing problems that impact the basic rights and dignity of the people,” she added.
De Guia issued the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the deployment of more soldiers and police officers into Samar, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and the Bicol region.
The deployment, said the President, would “suppress lawless violence and acts of terror” in these area.
READ: Duterte deploys more cops, soldiers to Negros, Samar, Bicol
De Guia said government should find the root cause of the violence in these areas in order to the stop the cycle.
“This is the more immediate clamor that needs to be addressed to truly stop the cycle of violence. Moreover, there is a need to address the root causes of violence—primarily land issues and the plight of farmers in the said areas,” she said.
A “number of sporadic acts of violence” have occurred in several provinces and was noted by the government.
Some of the acts of violence that were noted were the ambush killing of San Jose de Buan, Samar Mayor Ananias Rebato; the killing of a police official in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental; the massacre of nine farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental; and the ambush of a convoy carrying Food and Drug Administration Director Deneral Nela Charade Puno in Camarines Sur. /muf