The “Himamaylan 3” political prisoners composed of peace consultant Ramon Patriarca, and youth activists CJ Matarlo and John Michael Tecson conducted a one-day fasting inside their detention cells yesterday, March 30, in line with the anniversary of the Negros 14 killings.
March 30 marks the third year since the conduct of the second Synchronized Enhanced Managing of Police Operations (SEMPO 2) under Oplan Sauron of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the towns of Manjuyod, Sta. Catalina, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental that led to the deaths of 14 farmers within 24 hours.
The Himamaylan 3 were arrested in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on March 18, 2022 on “trumped-up charges” and remain detained in the Himamaylan Police Station, according to Karapatan-Central Visayas.
In a handwritten statement released to media, the Himamaylan 3 said, “The objective of the fasting is to show that no bars can hinder the call for justice for all SEMPO and EJK victims.”
They also highlighted that the Himamaylan 3 themselves have had “close calls” with state-sponsored and extrajudicial killings of the Duterte regime.
Patriarca, a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), was a former political prisoner in 2009 whose case has already been dismissed. According to Karapatan-Central Visayas, Patriarca had suffered mental and physical torture from state forces during this period. Following his release, he continued to receive death threats.
Matarlo is a survivor of the assassination during a fact-finding mission in Barangay Nangka, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental on November 28, 2017. Her companions, Karapatan-Negros coordinator Elisa Badayos and local peasant leader Eleuterio Moises, now dubbed the “Bayawan 2,” were killed.
Tecson is the son of Alberto Tecson, a leader of the fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA-Guihulngan City Chapter who was shot dead at their residence on July 24, 2017. The perpetrators are suspected members of Kawsa Guihulnganon Batok Komunista (KAGUBAK), a vigilante organization “known to be backed by the Army’s 79IB (79th Infantry Battalion).”
Matarlo is the former Vice President for Visayas of Kabataan Partylist while Tecson served as the secretary-general of Youth for Peace and Environmental Concerns (YPEC).
The Himamaylan 3 also wrote that “they have the responsibility to contribute in the advancement of the people’s struggle even behind bars.”
They added, “Since the EJK of peasant leader Alexander Ceballos in Murcia, Negros Occidental in late 2016, there had been around 110 politically-motivated killings of activists and their sympathizers all over Negros Island.”
They cited the killings of peasant rights lawyer Atty. Benjamin Ramos in Kabankalan City, human rights advocate Zara Alvarez in Bacolod City, municipal health officer Dr. Mary Rose Sancelan and her husband in Guihulngan City, anti-corruption advocate Dr. Avelex Amor in Canlaon City, and the city councilors slain in their own cities: Escalante City Councilor Toto Patigas, Don Salvador Benedicto Councilor Eden Bacordo, and Canlaon City Councilor Bobby Jalandoni.
SEMPO 2 is the successor to SEMPO 1, which was launched by combined forces of the AFP and the PNP from December 27-29, 2018 in Guihulngan City. State forces served warrants to leaders, members, and supporters of legal peasant groups affiliated with Kahugpongan Alang sa Ugma sa mga Gagmayng Mag-uuma sa Oriental Negros (KAUGMAON), leading to the deaths of six peasant activists.
