MANILA - The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has deployed a fact-finding team from Region-12 to Kidapawan, North Cotabato to investigate the violent dispersal of farmers' protest on Friday.

Two farmers died and several others were injured in the violent dispersal of a protest against the alleged lack of assistance from the local government amid the ongoing El Niño.

READ: 2 farmers killed in clash in Kidapawan protest

CHR chairperson Chito Gascon believes authorities overlooked crowd dispersal protocols given the use of live ammunition during the dispersal.

He added they will look at what prompted authorities to fire shots and how to improve crowd dispersal efforts in the future.

"It appears in this instance that while you had the police enforcers with their shield, there were also police personnel with full arms and live ammunition so we need to understand why that was decided on," Gascon said.

"The video themselves show that early on live bullets were utilized, this is something we need to get to the bottom of, why was this part of the plan for crowd dispersal management, this isn't a criminal law enforcement operation, it involves farmers who are mobilizing, demanding for services," he added.

Gascon, a former member of the Liberal Party, assured the CHR will remain independent and the investigation will be free of politics.---Reports from ANC's News Now