ATM, LILAK and LRC are requesting for solidarity,
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We are outraged. We are in grief. We mourn the gruesome killing of Atty. Juan Macababbad, a people’s lawyer, a defender of rights of those who have less in life, and even lesser in law.
Atty. Juan Macababbad was killed after he walked his clients out, through the gate of his modest house in Suralla, South Cotabato. Two unidentified gunmen shot him several times on the head. He was rushed to the hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. Atty. Macababbad is the 58th lawyer killed under the Duterte government, according to the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).
But for the indigenous people, and rural poor, who he had served as their lawyer for free, Atty. Macababbad is more than a statistic. His killing meant a loss to their access to justice. His killing meant them being more vulnerable to manipulation of the legal process of corporations, and even state forces. Atty. Macababbad handled cases of land conflicts, mostly between indigenous people and corporations and land lords; trumped-up charges against community leaders opposing mining, plantations and other mega projects encroaching upon their ancestral domains. For us, human rights, environmental, and IP rights advocate groups, the killing of Atty. Macababbad is a loss of a fellow human rights defender, who committed his services for the poor people. For his family, it is a loss of a good father, and a husband.
For all of us, the killing of Atty. Macababbad should be seen as a brazen act of violence, an utter disregard for life, and a violent form of silencing of those who defend human rights. This is the legacy of the Duterte government – the deepening of the culture of violence; the demonization of human rights; and the lack of accountability, and justice.
But we will seek justice for Atty. Macababbad. And we will continue to work for breaking down impunity, and the lack of accountability, and work for a better, more humane society.
Justice for Atty. Juan Macababbad!
Stop the killings!
Sept. 17, 2021
Alyansa Tigil Mina | LR-KsK | LILAk Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights
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