INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines— Following the recent killing of a farmer couple and their two children in Negros Occidental, human rights group Karapatan on Saturday called on Congress and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate numerous other peasant killings in the region.
“While investigations on the murder of former Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo are ongoing, numerous cases involving peasants and farmworkers in Negros are left unaddressed. It is a pity that ordinary folks’ lives are seen as unimportant in the eyes of our legislators,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabaym in a statement.
The CHR on Saturday morning announced that it has officially started independent investigations into the recent killing of four members of the Fausto family in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental.
Palabay also raised that Negros continues to face “de facto martial rule” since the Marcos Jr. administration has continued the state counter-insurgency program first implemented in 2018 under Memorandum Order No. 32.
State forces have “gone on killing sprees, terrorizing peasants and their communities” under the program’s pretext, said the Karapatan secretary general.
“No one has been investigated, prosecuted and made accountable for these heinous crimes, despite evidence of the military’s involvement in these incidents. This inaction on cases indicate the Marcos Jr. administration’s role in perpetuating these dire violations on human rights and the state of impunity in Negros,” Karapatan said.
Peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) has previously cited the killing of at least 31 other farmers in Negros since October 2018.