Relatives of executed Philippine land rights activists hope campaign for justice will gain ally in President Duterte
Activists claim current laws governing mining and the rights of indigenous people contain gaping loopholes that firms exploit.
When 18-year-old Michelle Campos last saw her father, Dionel, they had little time to chat. He was busy with an uncle’s wake and Michelle was caught up celebrating her school foundation day.
“The only thing papa told me was to do well in school,” she told the South China Morning Post. “No matter what happens, I should continue my studies.”
The next day during class, news reached her that her father had been killed. The gruesome details she learned later.
Before dawn on September 1, 2015 some 20 heavily armed men swooped on the village of Diatagon in Surigao del Sur. Two community leaders were singled out for execution. Dionel was one of them. He was shot in the face, the back of his head blown off.
Michelle’s uncle, Juvello Sinzo, a tribal chief, was also shot dead after his bones were broken. Later, the school director Emerito Samarca was found dead, his throat slashed from ear to ear.
One of the armed men – identified as belonging to Magahat-Bagani, a paramilitary force – shouted at terrified residents that the killings would not have happened if the leaders had signed the consent form to allow mining to operate in the community, according to Dr Natividad Castro, the area coordinator for Karapatan, a human rights group.