Baguio activists condemn attack on human rights worker in Ifugao

Baguio activists gather at the Malcom Square in Baguio City on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, to condemn the shooting of Brandon Lee, a human rights worker, in Ifugao. PHOTO BY Kimberlie Quitasol

BAGUIO CITY — Around 50 activists have staged a protest here to condemn the attack on human rights worker Brandon Lee, who was shot Tuesday evening by a still unidentified assailant.

Protesters carried placards with messages calling for justice for Lee as they gathered at the Malcolm Square late Wednesday afternoon.

Lee, 37, a volunteer paralegal of the Ifugao Peasant Movement, was shot in the head and body in front of his house in Lagawe, Ifugao at 6 p.m. Tuesday. He is currently being treated at a hospital.

Lee also writes for the alternative online news website, Northern Dispatch.

Windel Bolinget, chairperson of Cordillera People’s Alliance, blamed the military for the attack.

“We hope he will survive. He is now in a critical condition at the hospital,” Bolinget said.

For Myra dela Cruz, of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA), the attack on Lee was part of the implementation of the Duterte administration’s counter-insurgency campaign called “Oplan Kapanatagan.”

The Army has identified Ifugao as priority area on the joint police and military task force to end insurgency in the Cordillera region. /kga