The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will launch an investigation into the “reprehensible and senseless” killing of a 39-year-old transgender woman in Bulacan.
“Through our Regional Office covering Central Luzon, the CHR will be conducting a motu proprio investigation,” spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement.
“As the suspect is currently in custody, we hold that the police will do their utmost best to ascertain the truth so that justice may [be] attained, and the perpetrator be held to account,” she added.
The CHR denounced the crime against Cindy Jones Torres and all forms of gender-based violence.
“The case of Cindy Jones, as well as other similar instances of reprehensible and senseless acts of violence, stresses the harsh realities faced by the LGBTQI community, who are more vulnerable to hate-motivated violence even in present-day society,” De Guia said.
Police rushed to Torres’ salon in Barangay Tabe at midnight on Tuesday when someone asked for help from inside.
Someone was wrestling inside the salon, but the door was locked.
When the door was opened, the victim was found with stab wounds and was no longer alive.
The police caught the suspect, who admitted that he stabbed the transgender woman.
CHR to probe death of transgender woman in Bulacan
According to the suspect, the transgender woman tried to rape him, but the victim’s relatives and friends denied the allegation.
The investigation by the authorities revealed that the man had been borrowing money from Torres for a long time, and this was believed to be the reason for the murder.
Various organizations, such as Pantay Pilipinas and Bulacan State University Bahaghari, condemned the incident.
They say that up to 50 members of the LGBTQ community have been killed in hate crimes since 2010, so it is time for them to pass an anti-hate crime law.
The suspect will face murder charges.
In May, a 21-year-old transgender man was found dead in Quezon City and is suspected of being raped.
Ebeng Tria’s body was found in Bagong Silang a few days after he left home.
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