MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Monday announced that it has completed its initial investigation into the Mamasapano encounter between police commandos and Moro rebels which resulted to the deaths of 67 persons including five civilians.
In a statement, CHR Chair Loretta Ann Rosales said that the scoping mission conducted by the team has established facts that " engender belief that violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have been violated during the incident."
However, Rosales said that she could not divulge the information and evidence gathered by the CHR team.
"It will be up to the joint investigation team...composed of three working groups... to authorize their release in due course," Rosales said.
She noted that the CHR investigation has no "political or personal considerations."
"This is simply a fulfillment of the CHR's constitutional duty to investigate all forms of human rights violations...I wish to settle this issue once and for all-- CHR's purview is to determine whether or not before, during or after the incident in Mamasapano, the most relevant human rights and IHL (international humanitarian law) standards were met," Rosales said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Marc Titus Cebreros, CHR information chief, said that the members of the CHR investigation team have yet to get detailed statements from the residents living in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao where the encounter happened.
Cebreros said that residents were apprehensive to give or talk about the incident for fear of their own security.
"May agam-agam sila... hindi sila basta magsasalita kasi mas inaalala nila yung makakainin nila dahil nga na-displace sila nung nangyari yun," he said.
Cebreros said the CHR is also calling on government agencies also conducting similar probe into the incident to give reports submitted by persons involved in the operations to the commission.
The CHR investigation team is expected to come out with the results and recommendations of its probe within 90 days.