The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has started its own investigation as it denounced the attack against radio broadcaster Florencio "Flo" Hervias last Oct. 7 in Iloilo City.

It said it has dispatched a quick response operation team to conduct a probe and has extended its assistance to local authorities to ascertain justice for the victim.

"CHR stands with the media community in denouncing all threats and attacks to press freedom,” the CHR said in a statement.

“We thus express grave alarm on how this incident took place only mere days after the violent death of fellow radio broadcaster Percy Lapid," it said.

Based on reports, the CHR said that Hervias, who hosts the blocktime program “Banwa Binag-binaga” in DYRI Radio Mindanao Network, was assaulted by a group of masked men who pretended to be sanitation workers.

They mauled Hervias in broad daylight after he left his workplace in La Paz District, Iloilo City. He sustained lacerations on his nose, mouth, and near his eyes, it said.

It also said that Hervias' perpetrators were able to flee the scene of the crime, and the broadcaster suspects that the attack might be linked to the ongoing renovation of several public markets in the city.

"We trust that the Philippine National Police will investigate this matter with the same fervor and urgency. The Commission also echoes Hervias’ appeal to law enforcement officers to offer temporary assistance for his safety and security," it added.

The CHR reiterated the need for the government and its people to protect journalism and defend press freedom. Without it, the CHR warned that there is a risk of breeding a culture of impunity that endangers democracy.

"As duty bearers, we must do what we can to uphold the people’s right to truth, information, and expression. And in that undertaking, we must regard journalists as genuine allies towards nation-building," it stressed.

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