AFP lauds CHR resolution on FEU athlete Absalon, cousin's killing

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) lauded the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Region 5’s resolution which stated that both Far Eastern University (FEU) football player Kieth Absalon and his cousin Nolven's human rights were violated and abused when they were killed in a Masbate roadside bombing.

The resolution of CHR Region 5 stemmed from complaints filed by Vilma Absalon, Keith's mother, and Cristine Absalon, Nolven's mother.

“Senseless violence that victimizes innocent civilians has no place in a democratic, progressive society such as ours. We in the AFP laud the CHR’s work protecting the likes of Keith and Nolven and calling out those accountable,” AFP Chief of Staff General Jose Faustino Jr. said in a statement on Monday.

Absalon, 21, and his cousin Nolven, 40, were killed when suspected communist rebels set off an anti-personnel mine in Barangay Anas at 6:45 a.m. last June 6.

The Police Regional Office 5 reported that the bombing took place as Keith’s family was cycling together along Barangay Anas going to Barangay B. Titong.

Based on the resolution, the CHR said two improvised explosive device blasts and 79 fired cartridges recovered at the scene were proof of the disproportionate amount of force used against the victims.

The CHR said the death of the FEU athlete and his cousin was proof that the victim’s right to life and security, as embodied under Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Section 1 of Article III of the Philippine Constitution, R.A. 9851, and Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, were willfully disregarded.

Brigadier General Alejandro Nacnac, director of AFP Center for Law of Armed Conflict, said the use, stockpiling, manufacturing, and transporting of an improvised IED, which is considered an anti-personnel mine (APM), was prohibited under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and penalized under Section 4 of R.A. 9851.

Meanwhile, Faustino said their units on the ground were equipped with the knowledge to advance and protect the principles of human rights.

“We will continue to be vigilant as we monitor and report on the communist terrorist group’s lack of respect to the rights of innocent civilians,” he added. — DVM, GMA News