A FEMALE activist was gunned down Monday evening, August 17, 2020, in Bacolod City.
Initial police reports said Zara Rebuton Alvarez, 30, was shot dead by unidentified men around 7 p.m. on Sta. Maria Street in Ereco Subdivision.
The gunmen immediately fled onboard a motorcycle driven by another man.
Bacolod City Police Station 3 chief Captain Richard Fajarito said Alvarez was on her way to her boarding house when the attack happened.
He said the killing was well planned.
Fajarito investigators have been looking at the victim's affiliation with leftist organization as among the motives in the shooting.
"May mga information na nakaabot sa amin na ang biktima ay miyembro ng Bayan Negros o Karapatan (We received information that the victim is a member of Bayan Negros or Karapatan). So, we have to verify and confirm this kind of information... kung active siya sa ibang grupo (if she is an active member of other groups)," he said.
Fajarito said they will coordinate with the family of the victim to identify other possible motives.
In a statement, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said Alvarez was their former campaign and education director and paralegal in Negros.
"Like Ka Randy, she was included among those tagged as 'terrorists' in a proscription case of the Department of Justice filed in 2018. Her name and that of many others were stricken off the list, but the threats against her by alleged State forces continued," said Palabay.
"We extend our condolences to Zara's family and friends, as we and many other colleagues mourn the killing of a beloved human rights and health worker. We will never relent in pursuing justice for Zara, Ka Randy and
all victims of extrajudicial killings. We will honor Zara's legacy as a passionate, selfless and dedicated human rights worker, by continuing the struggle for the realization of people's rights," she added.
Randall "Ka Randy" Echanis was killed last week in his rented house in Novaliches by what the Anakpawis said were members of "security forces."
Palabay said Alvarez has been receiving "threats, vilification, and harassment from the military."
In October 30, 2012, Alvarez was arrested and charged by the military with murder along with 42 other activists, but she was released on bail on July 22, 2014.
On March 4, 2020, Alvarez was acquitted of the charges filed against her for lack of evidence.
Palabay said Alvarez was imprisoned for nearly two years and after her release, she continued to work as Karapatan's paralegal and as research and advocacy officer of the Negros Island Health Integrated Program.
Karapatan said it "is beginning to look like a killing spree of human rights defenders, peace advocates, and vocal critics" in an attempt to sow terror and silence them, especially now with the Anti-Terrorism Act is in place. (SunStar Philippines)