Romeo Capalla FILE PHOTO
ILOILO CITY, Philippines—International fair trade groups have called on President Aquino and the Philippine government to solve the murder last month of fair trade center head Romeo Capalla.
In separate letters addressed to the President, the Italy-based Altromercato and iCOOP Korea also called on Philippine authorities to arrest Capalla’s killers and uncover the motive for the attack.
“We are against impunity on extrajudicial killings and we demand justice for Romeo Capalla,” Vittorio Rinaldi, Altromercato chair, said in an April 8 letter.
“We [call for a] stop [to] additional killings of human rights activists [and] economic, social and developmental workers,” his letter added.
Altromercato is the biggest fair trade organization in Italy and one of the largest worldwide.
At least two men gunned down Capalla in front of the public market in Oton town, Iloilo province, on March 15 as he was helping his 90-year-old mother-in-law board his sport utility vehicle. He died of bullet wounds in the head before reaching Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City.
An hour after Capalla’s killing, unidentified men also burned a truck and other pieces of equipment of a muscovado sugar mill operated by a partner of Capalla’s group, Panay Fair Trade Center (PFTC), in Janiuay town, Iloilo.
Capalla, 65, and the younger brother of Davao Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla, chaired the board of directors of PFTC and was its general manager for more than 12 years.
Police last month filed a murder complaint against one of the alleged gunmen—Julie Cabino—and four other unidentified persons, but no arrests have been made. Investigators have also not determined the motive for the killing.
In his letter, Rinaldi expressed dismay over the killing of Capalla and the attack against PFTC.
“PFTC is certainly one of the most important and trustworthy partners, as well as a leading member, of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) Asia and WFTO Global,” he said.
Capalla, Rinaldi said in his letter, was “an extremely committed, hardworking and fair person who dedicated his entire life to the improvement of the living conditions of poor people by promoting fair trade activities.”
“He had a true commitment to his community and his country,” Rinaldi said.
The iCOOP Korea, the biggest consumer cooperative in South Korea, said it was “deeply shocked and angered” by the killing of Capalla and the burning of the muscovado mill.
It also called on Philippine officials and law enforcement agencies “to take strong and prompt actions” to arrest those responsible.
Fair trade is an organized social movement that aims to help producers in developing countries to foster better trading conditions and promote sustainability.
It advocates the payment of a higher price to exporters as well as higher social and environmental standards.