BACOLOD City – On the afternoon of April 22, 72-year-old Bernardino Patigas, fondly called “Tatay Toto” by colleagues, was gunned down while driving his motorcycle along the highway in Barangay Washington, Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
He was shot twice, in his leg and forehead, and he died instantly.
Patigas came from an election campaign activity, as he was running for reelection as Sangguniang Panlungsod member in Escalante City.
He was a founder and secretary general of the North Negros Alliance for Human Rights Advocates, a member-organization of Karapatan-Negros.
Prior to his killing, Patigas was subjected to multiple incidents of threat and harassment, with his picture included in a poster wherein he was tagged as a communist personality.
“This is an act of cowardice. Tatay Toto’s life was that of selflessness, courage, persistence and activism. His was a life lived in service of the marginalized, with an unwavering resolve to struggle with them and defend their rights. We impute his murder to the bloodied hands of the Duterte government, which has considered activists as enemies,” said Roneo Clamor, deputy secretary general of the human rights alliance Karapatan.
Patigas raised legitimate issues on genuine land reform, militarization of communities, and prevailing human rights violations in Negros, and yet the government’s immediate response was a bullet to the head, Clamor lamented.
The killing of Patigas is the latest in a string of attacks against activists and human rights defenders in Negros. At least 50 peasants and rights advocates have been killed in Negros since July 2016, said Clamor.
“The use of riding-in-tandem gunmen, reminiscent of death squads, is their preferred method of execution. This government has already claimed the lives of many human rights advocates, including human rights lawyer Atty. Benjamin Ramos in November 2018. The pattern of being subjected to threats prior to the cold-blooded murders is also true in this case,” added Clamor.
The pictures in posters circulated in various areas in Negros are turning out to be a de facto hit-list, brazenly targeting leaders of progressive organizations and activists who have been vocal about this government’s anti-people policies, he lamented.
“We mourn the death of another exemplary human rights advocate. We condemn the killing of Tatay Toto and the ongoing attacks against human rights defenders in Negros and elsewhere in the country. Tatay Toto was a survivor of the Escalante massacre back in 1986 and he has taught many of us that tyrants have their downfall, at the hands of the people who are resolved to take back power and demand accountability. We join our voices in the call for justice, for Tatay Toto and all the victims of human rights violations under this vicious and cruel regime. Likewise, we vow to continue the cause for people’s rights,” Clamor concluded./PN
