4 Addressing Inequality During the Pandemic and Political Rights, the UNCRC and similar other human rights treaties to which the Philippines is a State party;” 11 The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), in CHR Resolution No. (IV) A2010-085, defined EJKs as: “…killings committed outside of the legal and judicial process by or with the consent or acquiescence of the State or public officials, and which are considered illegal under relevant national and international laws, other than necessary measures of law enforcement to protect life or as acts of armed conflict carried out in conformity with the rules of international humanitarian law.” 12 Extra Judicial Killings (EJKs) have been a continuing black mark in the track record of the Duterte Administration. For 2021, the CHR has investigated a total of 68 cases: 74 victims of which were male, 62 were killed during law enforcement operations, while 6 were killed by unidentified assailants. 13 The CHR Regional Office III conducted a motu proprio investigation on the shooting of Sonya Gregorio and her son Frank Anthony Gregorio by an off-duty police officer, Jonel Nuezca last 20 December 2020. The shooting was captured on video and has gone viral on social media. 14 The confrontation began when Nuezca complained about allegedly hearing an improvised cannon (boga) by the Gregorio family. The victims and the suspect had a grudge stemming from a land dispute regarding the right of way. In the video, the family could be heard trying to stop the fight between the son and the police officer. However, the policeman’s daughter came closer and shouted to them, “My father is a policeman!” 15 Sonya Gregorio shouted back, “I don’t care.” The police officer then drew his issued firearm, a Beretta 9 mm with serial number M17813Z, and shot the mother, Sonya, pointblank in the head, and did the same to her son, Frank. As the mother struggled to get up, police officer Nuezca shot her a second time before fleeing. 16 With regard to the right of way dispute between the victims and suspect, Barangay Kagawad Arcadio Rirao and Barangay Secretary Amelia Antonio informed this Office that there has been a series of dialogue in the barangay between the Gregorios and Nuezca, however, said dialogues did not push through due to the unwillingness of Nuezca to come to terms with the Gregorios. 17 The State must also look after the best interest of the children who witnessed the gruesome crime. A proper psychological and post-traumatic debriefing session and intervention for other minors who witnessed the incident is recommended, depending on Paniqui’s Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) assessment. 1 18 Human rights lawyer Atty. Karlo Guillen survived an attack on his life last 03 March 2021 in Iloilo CIty by pretending to be dead. Two men tried to kill him with a screwdriver, stabbing Guillen in the head and leaving the said screwdriver embedded in his left temple when paramedics found him bleeding on a street. The two men fled on two motorcycles with two accomplices. The assailants took Guillen’s backpack with his personal belongings and a shoulder bag containing his laptop, external disk for backup files, and case documents.2 1 Commission on Human Rights Regional Office III. (2021, January). Human Rights Regional Situationer Report Region III – Central Luzon January to December 2020. 2 Burgos, N. (2021). Rights lawyer survives attack by playing dead, loses all case files. Retrieved from https://newsinfo. inquirer.net/1403604/rights-lawyer-survives-attack-by-playing-dead-loses-all-case-files