Lack of Witnesses Bug CHR 7 Probe on EJK in Cebu

The lack of witnesses has hampered the investigation conducted by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7 on the 20 suspected extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in Cebu, an official said.

Leo Villarino, CHR 7 chief investigator, said half of the cases the CHR 7 is investigating have no witnesses.

Villarino said he believes some of the witnesses have been intimidated or are afraid that the respondents might get back at them.

He said the lack of cooperation from witnesses has prevented them from complying with the CHR’s new policy to resolve a case within 90 days of the filing of the complaint.

“As much as we want to immediately dispose of these cases based on our new policy, we can’t move forward without any witnesses to prove our complainants’ cases,” he said.

Villarino said they don’t recommend the filing of a case if evidence is lacking.

He said they will continue to wait for the complainants to provide them with witnesses.

“If necessary, we will approach potential witnesses to convince them to testify for the complainant,” he said. (PNA) FPV/EB/EDS