• THERESA MAE DULMAN
A coalition of more than 60 youth organizations and student publications has issued a statement condemning the deaths resulting from the April 19 armed encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental.
The groups, which include the College Editors Guild of the Philippines – Negros and Youth For Climate Hope, are seeking justice for RJ Ledesma, a community journalist and activist who was among the 19 fatalities in the Barangay Salamanca clashes.
The call for an inquiry follows a statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) naming the 19 casualties and identifying Ledesma as one of nine individuals they claimed were civilians rather than armed combatants.
While the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintains that all those killed were members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the youth coalition and the CPP assert that several victims were unarmed non-combatants engaged in community work and human rights advocacy.
In their appeal, the organizations described Ledesma as a mentor to young writers and a principled community journalist.
They characterized the event as a violation of international humanitarian law and requested that a “trustworthy investigative body” conduct a transparent probe into the deaths.
The coalition expressed concern that the labeling of activists as insurgents impacts the safety of community workers and obscures the socio-economic challenges facing the province.
The signatories, representing a wide range of academic, environmental, and cultural sectors, have called for accountability within the military chain of command.*
