The Commission is alarmed with recent complaints of alleged illegal detachments in a school and barangay hall as well as alleged incidents of threat, direct assault, and physical injuries committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Central Luzon. We are reminding that day care centers and barangay halls are zones of peace and are protected civilian institutions. Schools are places for children to learn and be nurtured. Barangay halls are places where people seek for government services and redress for various issues. The mere presence of armed combatants exposes these places to possible attack, antagonizes the civilians, and endangers the safety of children.

It is clear under international humanitarian law that places dedicated for civilian purposes must be free from armed presence. State forces has the duty to respect this. The military and the police are mandated to protect and ensure the security of civilians, not imperil nor threaten them with force. The CHR-Region III is now probing these incidents to ensure that possible violations of human rights are addressed.