Queenie M.

Rubio MAKABAYAN D

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science-1 Module 3

Identifying Human Rights Violation

In November 2017, a mother from Siquijor filed a complaint against members of the
Philippine Army with the Commission on Human Rights office in Dumaguete City. The young
boy told the CHR that after playing basketball in a nearby barangay, he passed by a videoke
house where about ten troops were drinking. When he got to the location, a man who presented
himself as a soldier promptly beat him up, and his drinking companions quickly joined in,
leading him to receive injuries. Another soldier leveled his rifle at the young man, frightening
him. The victim's mother stated that she pursued criminal allegations of bodily injuries against
the troops before the Regional Trial Court-branch 46 in Siquijor for breaching Republic Act
7160, or the legislation against child abuse. "This investigation is being conducted to guarantee
that the rights of the minor who is being violated are appropriately attended to and acted upon by
authorities. We are quite concerned about the human rights component, especially because the
victim is a minor and the suspected suspects are military," said CHR Special Investigator Jesus
Cañete. It's incredibly infuriating to realize that citizens' guardians occasionally mistreat them. I
recall when this topic was the buzz of the town and we were truly alarmed. Soldiers have always
been heroes to me because they are the warriors of peace and order. Unfortunately, when I
heard the issue, I began to understand that not all of them were doing their jobs well. The
authorites' breaches of human rights also compel me to learn more about society and the law. I
hope that one day I will be able to fight for those who are oppressed and abused.

Reference

PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions. (n.d.). www.pressreader.com.

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