CHR to probe violent Pasay demolition

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday said it will look into possible police abuses committed during Wednesday's violent demolition of a shantytown in Pasay City where four people were hurt. In a statement, CHR chairperson Leila de Lima said the police operatives who joined the demolition team may have violated its own operational procedures when they used firearms to pacify an angry mob of residents affected by the clearing operation. De Lima cited Rule 19, Section 2 of the PNP Operational Procedures which states that non-lethal modes of intervention, such as tear gas and water cannons, are allowed in demolitions. She said these could be used “only as a last resort." “The use of firearms is strictly prohibited during demolition operations. The [Philippine National Police] has no justification for the discharge of firearms, whether for the purpose of firing warning shots, disabling or killing protesters," she said. Frustrated She said she is “frustrated" with the admission of police officials that they fired warning shots during the demolition, which she said is prohibited under Rule 5 of the PNP’s General Procedures. “I cannot understand what justification the PNP may have in using their firearms for warning shots. Neither can I understand the necessity of firing their weapons to injure protesters, armed or otherwise," she said. The demolition occurred in a Muslim settlement near a mosque along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. Police operatives said they fired warning shots when residents started pelting them with rocks. Residents claimed three of them were killed in the violence but refused to produce the bodies to inquiring media practitioners and police investigators. Probe on residents De Lima said that while she had directed the commission’s National Capital Region Investigation Office to look into possible police abuses during the incident, the commission would also consider how residents used violent means to retaliate during the demolition. “While we condemn the PNP’s use of firearms, we cannot turn a blind eye to reports that the inhabitants of the demolished community used homemade firearms and explosive devices, in addition to throwing stones at demolition operatives," she said. De Lima called on the PNP to fully cooperate during the planned investigation through properly documenting and identifying who used firearms during the encounter between police and residents of the area. - GMANews.TV