55 abuse cases recorded since the start of 2007

The Commission on Human Rights has documented 55 cases of human rights abuses in Central Visayas from January to November this year with the police topping the list of violators.

CHR regional director Alejandro Alonso Jr. said Cebu has the most number of cases with 47.27 percent or 26 cases.  It was followed by Negros Oriental and Bohol with 17 and 12 cases, respectively.

Topping the list of violators is the Philippine National Police with 25 cases filed against its members while there were only two cases involving the military and the New People’s Army.  Second in the list of violators were civilians with 14 cases reported to the CHR.

Based on CHR records the most cases reported to them was child abuse, either rape, child trafficking and physical injuries.  The CHR has documented 10 cases of child abuse and also 10 cases of physical injuries since January up to November, seven cases of murder and massacre, four cases of frustrated murder and frustrated homicide.

There were five cases of arbitrary detention, four cases of grave abuse of authority, three cases of sexual harassment and threats, respectively.  Alonso said incidents of violation of domicile coercion (i.e. trespassing) and demolition is very negligible.

Alonso said the 55 cases they documented can be considered very low compared to the other parts of the country where there is a strong problem of insurgency.

Alonso said most of these cases are still under investigation while four have already been submitted for resolution and 11 are either closed or archived for lack of witnesses.

There were eight cases referred to civilian courts and 14 have been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.-Fred P. Languido/BRP