Task force to probe attack on human rights worker Brandon Lee

BAGUIO CITY—The Cordillera police have formed a task force to investigate the attack on Brandon Lee, a human rights advocate who has been tagged by the military as a supporter of the communist rebels.

Lee, 37, was severely wounded when unidentified assailants shot him in front of his house in Lagawe town, Ifugao province, on Tuesday.

Investigators have yet to establish the motive behind the attack, but militant groups blamed the military for the incident.

Lee is a paralegal volunteer of the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM) and writes for an online news website, Northern Dispatch.

He suffered bullet wounds on his head and body and remained in serious condition at a hospital, police said.

Police Brig. Gen. Israel Ephraim Dickson, regional director of the Cordillera police, said they were doing an extensive investigation of the ambush with the help of the Provincial Special Investigation Task Group.

“We also request the assistance of the public to help us by giving relevant and timely information,” he said.

According to Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA), Lee and other IPM members have been Red-tagged by the Army.

CHRA said before the attack on Lee, soldiers from the Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion were frequently seen at his house and at the IPM office in Lagawe.

Myra dela Cruz, alliance spokesperson, said the ambush on Lee is part of the implementation of the Duterte administration’s counterinsurgency campaign called “Oplan Kapanatagan.”

But Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala denied the allegations that they were behind the attack on Lee. “The Philippine Army is people-centered, thus we strictly adhere to the provisions of human rights,” he said. —KIMBERLIE QUITASOL