- The CHR conducts probe on the violent Kidapawan dispersal
- CHR Commissioner Gwen Pimentel said she wants to know what made the police open fire at the farmers
- The CHR will also investigate the claim that around 80 farmers have gone missing
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) created a team to investigate the violent dispersal of farmers-protesters in Kidapawan City last Friday, April 1, which left 3 farmers dead and nearly 200 others injured.
CHR Commissioner Gwen Pimentel ordered the creation of a team to conduct a fact-finding mission regarding the peaceful street protest that turned bloody after local police decided to disperse the farmers’ picket line.
An article dated April 3, 2016 published by the Manila Bulletin shared that Commissioner Pimentel said the CHR personnel have been sent to Kidapawan City to determine what really happened during the rally that turned ugly and bloody.
Pimentel said she wants to know what compelled the policemen to open fire at the thousands of farmers who were only asking for food relief such as rice, vegetable seedlings and financial subsidy from the North Cotabato provincial government as the El Niño phenomenon wrought havoc to hundreds of hectares of farmlands.
CHR Chairman Jose Luis Martin Gascon told GMA News they have already viewed the video of the violent dispersal. He said they need to gather more evidence to be able come up with more definite conclusion as to what really transpired.
“The investigation will determine the facts as they unfolded as well as to clarify who might be held accountable for the violence and the injuries that resulted therefrom,” CHR chairman Chito Gascon said.
Gascon said the claims that around 80 farmer-protesters have gone missing will also be investigated.
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