Jacqueline de Guia, CHR spokesperson (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Sunday said it has launched a motu proprio investigation on the ambush allegedly committed by members of the Abu Sayyaf that killed three soldiers in Al-Barka, Basilan, last week.
In a statement, Jacqueline de Guia, spokesperson for the CHR, condemned the ambush against the soldiers while they were on their way to a hill in Magcawa to replace another group manning an army detachment of the 18th Infantry Battalion.
Shot in the head
The attack killed Army Cpl. Mike Repoponio and Pfc. Jhon Philip Pamplona and Jerwin Capoy. Two of them were shot in the head while the other died of a gunshot wound in the stomach.
“The Commission continues to strongly denounce any arbitrary attack that brazenly violates the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and tramples on the right to life,” De Guia said. “In the context of armed hostilities, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force is prohibited under IHL.”
“Belligerent armed groups and rogue elements that commit human rights abuses must be pursued and held accountable to ensure justice and to uphold the rule of law,” she added.
The military’s Western Mindanao Command said the security troops were ambushed by armed led by a certain Abbas Jangkatan, a known Abu Sayyaf member, and they later fled toward Tipo-Tipo town where the military is now pursuing them.
De Guia expressed their sympathies to the families and friends of the soldiers and called on authorities to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Her statement also comes after the commission fended off criticisms that it was only concerned with state-led violence as it faced a budget cut of more than P118 million in the spending bill now being considered in Congress.
Lesser CHR budget
The Department of Budget and Management allotted P803.3 million for the CHR in 2023, P118.233 million less than its 2022 budget of P921,156,000.
De Guia tried to muster enough support in the House of Representatives to restore the budget cut as “a mark of the government’s respect for the work of an independent national human rights institution” and found expressions of support from a handful of representatives.
But the number of lawmakers supporting a restoration of the budget cut was not even enough to increase the allocation at the committee level.
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