CALBAYOG CITY – A public inquiry on the alleged extrajudicial killings in the island of Samar was held here Friday at the Centennial Pastoral Center initiated by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

Leila M. de Lima, chairperson of CHR, presided over the public inquiry with the presence of the participants from the local government units (LGUs), the church, non-government organizations, police, military, other government agencies and the media.

De Lima in her opening statement said that “We are here on a very serious matter following a somber string of ghastly crimes that require our full attention. We are here to delve deep into the persistent problem of suspicious killings carried out throughout the provinces of Samar.”

De Lima disclosed that since 2005, The Region 8 office of the CHR based in Tacloban City “has taken cognizance of 16 cases of extralegal killings in Eastern Samar, 45 on the western end of the island, and seven in the north, or a total of 68 extralegal killings cases.”

“And what disturbs most the CHR is the banner case of Father Cecilio Lucero,” De Lima added.

During the public inquiry which lasted up to past 5 p.m., the police also disclosed that from January 2005 to the present, there were 151 killings in the entire island of Samar wherein 32 are from Northern Samar, 100 from Samar, and 19 from Eastern Samar.