The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Tuesday said it has started a probe on the “brazen killing” of an acting election officer in Catarman, Northern Samar.
In a statement, CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said the investigation surrounding the death of Municipal Election Officer James Diaz Maghanoy was part of the effort to put an end to the election violence ahead of the May 2022 polls.
“The CHR in Region VIII has undertaken an immediate independent probe to ensure that accountability will be exacted. The urgent need to curb impunity cannot be overemphasized, especially during this volatile election period,” De Guia said.
“Election violence denigrates human rights, particularly the right to life, and creates an atmosphere of fear that impacts the conduct of free and genuine elections—a democratic exercise of the people’s right to vote,” she added.
According to the police report, Maghanoy, a municipal election officer from Lope de Vega, Samar, was on his way home when an unidentified assailant shot him while he was traversing the national highway in Barangay Samoge, Catarman at about 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Maghanoy was shot twice, one in his head and another in the body.
“As in all similar cases of killings and violence, we continue to harp on the expedient need to bring perpetrators to account and to implement concrete mechanisms that will genuinely reduce violence on the ground,” De Guia said.
Meanwhile, the Comelec also called on authorities to ensure that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
The CHR spokesperson also echoed the Comelec’s appeal, saying that the authorities must ensure “safe, free, and genuine elections.”
“We also ask all citizens and concerned groups to be vigilant in defense of basic rights and freedoms during this period,” she said.
The Catarman Municipal Police Office was conducting a follow-up investigation for the arrest of the assailant. — DVM, GMA News
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