The Commission on Human Rights office in Quezon City. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) condemned on Wednesday the recent killings of local officials, political supporters, and other individuals — into which it had started its own probe.
“The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) condemns the recent spate of attacks involving local officials, a political supporter, and the members of the vulnerable sectors,” CHR Executive Director Jacqueline De Guia said in a statement.
“Barely days after CHR dispatched an investigation team to look into the killing of a barangay captain in Malabon, we are confronted again with a similar crime occurring in Agusan del Sur concerning the killing of a barangay captain by riding-in-tandem suspects,” she added.
According to De Guia, the CHR is also investigating two other incidents – in Pangasinan and in Cagayan — that both happened last Sunday, May 29.
In Pangasinan, Leopoldo Ragotona, a 47-year-old who was running for barangay chair, was gunned down by still unidentified assailants in the parking area of the Pangasinan Coliseum.
In Cagayan, Bonifacio Cuarteros, chair of Barangay Nanguilattan in Baggao town, and his two companions escaped injury when motorcycle-riding gunmen shot at them but missed outside the Baggao Cockpit.
“As CHR conducts its parallel investigation on the cases mentioned, we hope that the Philippine National Police will probe the deaths to uncover the truth and hold perpetrators accountable,” De Guia said.
According to De Guia, the CHR will conduct its own probe into the rape-slay of a single mother in San Miguel, Bulacan, and the death of an eight-year-old child in Pasig who was allegedly beaten by his parents for staying up late.
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