A Filipina journalist shared words from a fellow journalist following the death of a community journalist during a military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental.
RJ Nichole Ledesma, a 30 years-old a poet, human rights activist and journalist at Altermidya, was among the 19 people killed in what the military called an “encounter” in Sitio Sinugmawan, Barangay Salamanca on April 19.
According to the Philippine Army, 19 alleged New People’s Army (NPA) members were killed in a series of encounters with soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion.
Meanwhile, Ledesma was a correspondent and coordinator for Altermidya, who was described as dedicated to telling community stories, particularly on the sufferings of the impoverished.
He was also an environmental advocate known for researching, documenting and writing stories about vulnerable sectors in Negros communities.
Ledesma led Paghimutad-Negros, an alternative media outfit focused on human rights reporting and grassroots storytelling.
He was likewise a poetry fellow at the Silliman University National Writers Workshop and at the 9th Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Writers Workshop.
Student leader
Among those who were killed, apart from Ledesma, was Alyssa Alano, a political science student leader and student councilor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, who was on a community visit in the area.
Alano served as education and research councilor at the UP Diliman University Student Council and was a young peasant organizer who had been in Toboso to learn about the community’s conditions amid reported intense militarization by state security forces.
She also served as chair of the UP Diliman chapter of the League of Filipino Students, advocating for marginalized sectors.
The University Student Council described her as an “excellent, diligent, loving, and outstanding student leader and a true daughter of the nation.”
“Nagluluksa ang konseho at buong komunidad ng UP sa pagkawala ni Alyssa. Mahigpit ding nakikiramay ang konseho sa kanyang mga naiwang pamilya, kaibigan, at mahal sa buhay,” the USC said.
“Buong tapang at buong pusong tinanggap ni Alyssa ang hamon sa bawat Iskolar ng Bayan–ang paglingkuran ang sambayanan. Hinding-hindi natin siya malilimutan,” it added.
The UP Diliman Committee on the Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights also denounced Alano’s killing, calling her a “decisive student leader with a sharp, critical mind that discerned the structures of injustice perpetuating the deep poverty and oppression of landless farmers and agricultural workers in Negros.”
Reactions
Journalist Jamela Alindongan, a correspondent for Al Jazeera English, shared a poem by Perla Kantarjian, a Lebanese-American writer and journalist, reflecting on journalists being killed.
“When a journalist is killed, you don’t ask which side she was on or why she was even there,” Kantarjian wrote.
“You ask if she had eaten lunch, or what song was playing in her head, if any. You ask if she finally got to cut her hair the way she wanted. You ask if she had a person who made her laugh, or what she dreamed of when she was 12, and if the dream ever changed,” she added.
“You ask, was she wearing her PRESS vest? You ask, what truths was she reporting? And most importantly, you ask, who killed her?” Kantarjian wrote.
Alindogan’s post has received 1,100 likes and reactions and over 580 shares.
A millennial priest also shared his thoughts on the incident, saying that not everyone in the mountains is part of the NPA.
“‘Pag namatay sa bundok, NPA agad? Lumaki ako sa bundok, I had to live my teenage life in fear,” priest “Pari Koy” wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Biglang susulpot ang military sa taniman namin, ay, binubunot ‘yung tanim. Sa gabi, bigla na lang hahablutin habang naglalakad. Bahay niraratrat. ‘Di pedeng bumili ng di sakong bigas,” he added.
“Bawal bumili ng sako ng bigas kasi sasabihin ng AFP, ba’t kailangan niyo ng ganyan kadaming bigas? Bibigyan niyo NPA?T*** *** ganyan sila ka-paranoid, mga trigger-happy ‘yan, onting galaw mo, NPA,” another commented.
The reported “clash” was condemned by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, which said that at least 653 residents from 168 households were displaced by the operation.
Human rights groups also said several of those killed were community organizers and farmers.
The NPA said only a “small squad” of its fighters were killed, adding that others were “civilians documenting a peasant activity.”
The AFP said the operation was based on reports from civilians about the alleged presence of armed elements in the area.
It added that the operation was carried out in accordance with rules of engagement, with full respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.
