BOHOL Commission on Human Rights (CHR) had only 23 cases of alleged human rights violations, but most of the complaints are against public officials or the military and police.
Documents furnished by the CHR showed that a total of 29 alleged violators are from the ranks of barangay officials, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army, agents of the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), government employees and retired public school teacher.
Some civilians, which also include a dive instructor put in a combined 8 respondents to total the 37.
The data also shows that the government, who is supposed to lead the human rights advocacy as constitutional mandate needs to double up and internalized its sincere efforts to spread human rights and advance the cause, cites one observer at the Kapihan.
Sectors in government especially barangay officials and the police ought to know more than the ordinary civilians about the human rights, and that they must be last to be complained, observed one at the Kapihan.
The weekly forum tackled the theme Human Rights as a key to Peace and Development in preparation to the Human right Week December 4-10.
Clearly with human rights advocacy as an after-effect of irrelevant insurgency problem, Director Alejandro Alonzo Jr said there has been a note correlation between insurgency and human rights violations.
He pointed out that in 1999, or at the time when insurgency was at is peak, CHR Bohol recorded 57 alleged violations, the number drastically cut down to half or even lower in 2008 when insurgency in Bohol has become irrelevant.
This year CHR Bohol tallied the 23 cases since January to November, the most of the cases filed in August.
Based on the CHR records, after August, with 5 cases, January put in 4 while April and July each have three.
The CHR found a two complaints in June while the rest of the months each have single cases.
The CHR however pointed out that the reprieve in this number of cases may show that the human rights education conducted by both the civilian and military organizations have worked, albeit slowly. (PIA)
