Monday, July 02, 2007 CHR doubts Karapatan claims of HR violations By Carlo P. Mallo
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Southern Mindanao doubts the figures quoted by watchdog Karapatan as the total human rights violations in the region, saying the number far exceeds the official records.
"We just cannot ascertain that these are legitimate cases," CHR Regional Director Alberto Sipaco Jr. said. He said it is not that the group has exaggerated the figures; they might have also included cases that were not yet verified.
It was reported last week that the progressive group, Karapatan, asserted there are already about 69 cases of human right's violations in Davao City for the first quarter of the year alone.
Sipaco begged to disagree. "What we have on record is far lower than what they are saying," Sipaco said.
He added that one cannot simply jump into the conclusion that a human rights violation was committed just because someone said so. "We have to observe due process," Sipaco added.
Investigation and the gathering of evidence are just some of the processes that are to be observed in ascertaining the validity of a complaint, Sipaco said.
Moreover, Sipaco said Karapatan and the other progressive groups are the ones that continually file complaints on human rights violations before the CHR.
