The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Monday, September 23, 2024, said it is monitoring all incidents of threats, harassment, and violence perpetrated against local officials following the attempt on the life of a barangay chairman and his wife in Davao City in early September.

In a statement, CHR said that while it has not been determined yet whether or not the ambush was motivated by politics, the incident and other similar acts of violence ‘undermine social order and the rule of law, regardless of reason.’

CHR has already dispatched a Quick Response Operation (QRO) team after receiving reports about the ambush.

It can be recalled that the chairman of Barangay Datu Salumay in Marilog District and his wife were travelling the Bukidnon Road on September 3, 2024 when two assailants wearing bonnets blocked their way and fired shots at them when they reached Purok 1 in Barangay Datu Salumay.

The barangay chairman was unharmed but his wife was hit in the knee.

CHR said it is monitoring this kind of incident and all forms of violence and harassment against local leaders, especially that the 2025 midterm elections is approaching.

“We stress that these acts incite fear across communities and erode public confidence in the electoral process, potentially distorting the integrity of the forthcoming polls. Within this context, ensuring a safe environment for local leaders and their constituents is, in itself, a significant effort to safeguard every Filipino’s democratic right to engage in a free and peaceful electoral process,” CHR said.