CHR to probe vigilante killings in Davao

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will investigate the spate of killings in southern Philippines being blamed on the "Davao Death Squad," a vigilante group. CHR chairperson Leila de Lima will fly to Davao City on March 30 to lead the investigation with a team of human rights experts, radio dzBB reported on Wednesday. De Lima is alarmed over the phenomenon that is sowing fear among villagers in southern Mindanao. She suspects that some kind of "system" is being employed in the series of killings. The official said the CHR must find out not only the identities of the death squad's leaders but also their supporters. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to fully cooperate with the commission's investigation. Duterte said that he had already taken “full responsibility" over the killings in his turf, stressing that the cases were not state-sponsored. The mayor claimed that the killings were committed by criminals against their fellow criminals. The CHR is optimistic that some members of the death squad will surface to help investigators shed light on the problem. Philipp Buck of the Action Network Human Rights Philippines (ANHRP) welcomed the CHR’s move to get to the bottom of the killings. “It is very good that the human rights commission will conduct an investigation in late March on the Davao death squad," said Buck at a press conference in Quezon City on Wednesday. The ANHRP coordinator along with seven other colleagues is currently in the country to assess the government, Church, and civil society’s efforts in addressing the scores of cases of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial, arbitrary, and summary killings. The death squad is said to take justice into their own hands by killing suspected juvenile delinquents, drug addicts, and thieves in the city. Human rights advocates cried foul saying the squad only aggravated the country’s problem on extra-judicial killings, which victimized not only criminals but peasant farmers, militant leaders, and journalists as well. Local officials said DDS-related killings have not triggered a public outcry since local villagers think those are what suspected criminals deserve. According to Redemptorist priest Amado Picardal, a Mindanao-based peace advocate, 269 killings reported in the region in 2008 are believed to be the handiwork of the death squad. In January alone, almost 30 other people had been victimized by the DDS. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV