CHR says cops are on top of rights violators’ list in Bicol

LEGAZPI CITY—The regional office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) tagged police as the top human rights violator in Bicol although the number of cases of rights violations in the region dropped.

According to a report by the CHR, policemen committed the most human rights offenses in Bicol although the number of cases dropped by 9 percent last year.

Murder is on top of the list of human rights offenses in the region, accounting for 24 of 74 cases of human rights violations, the CHR said.

The CHR said policemen had been linked to six cases of torture, six cases of unlawful arrests, four cases of grave threats, three cases of maltreatment, two cases of robbery, a case of arbitrary detention, a case of harassment and a case of malicious mischief.

At least 14 cases of murder had been linked to the insurgency. Militiamen and soldiers had been tagged in two cases each of killings. Public officials had been tagged in two cases and private armed groups had been tagged in three cases.