Bacolod City – The Commission on Human Rights logged 45 extra judicial killings, or murder and drug related deaths, either perpetrated by New People’s Army rebels or other unidentified suspects, in Negros Occidental last year, its provincial head Vincent Parra disclosed over-the-weekend.
Parra, however, said murder cases dropped from 64 in 2022, to 45 last year.
Parra also reported an increase of deaths brought about by alleged encounters between government forces and suspected NPA rebels last year, which was 12, compared to three in 2022.
The 12 deaths in alleged encounters, was on top of the 45 extrajudicial killings.
A total of 71 human rights cases were recorded in Negros Occidental last year, compared to 81 cases in 2022.
Parra, however, refused to reveal the sector with the most number of alleged human rights violations, stressing that it is contentious, as the results of their investigations are not yet final.
He further said that CHR also took note of the NPA admissions on several killings in Negros.
CHR also logged cases of frustrated murder and enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, divestment of property and internal displacement, at one each, in 2023. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)
