HRW to Cebu Mayor Osmeña: Human rights applies to everyone, won’t hinder anti-crime ops

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña on Monday was reminded by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement that everyone has human rights.

Human rights, the HRW added, aids police in carrying out their responsibilities instead of hindering them.

"We would like to remind the good mayor that human rights applies to everybody, not just people the police accused of criminal activity. Mayor Osmeña is barking up the wrong tree," the HRW wrote.

"Human rights is not and should not be a hindrance to law enforcement—it should, in fact, help the police do their job effectively and in accordance with the rule of law," it added.

The HRW addressed Osmeña following the mayor's claim on Sunday that having their human rights recognized emboldens criminals to kill people.

Osmeña made the comment after Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officer Earl Rallos was shot to death by two motorcycle-riding suspects in Cebu City on Friday.

"Instead of trying to discredit human rights," the HRW wrote, Osmeña should instead have police in his city to uphold human rights by "strictly following lawful police procedures."

More importantly, they said, police must "investigate and prosecute law enforcers implicated in abuses during anti-drug and anti-crime operations."

Osmeña previously accused the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of endorsing criminality by insisting that criminals are "innocent until proven guilty" and for the alleged rise in criminality in the country. — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News