FAMILY members and supporters yesterday commemorated the second-year anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday massacre” that left nine activists dead and led to the arrest of several others in Calabarzon, saying that justice remained elusive for them.
The group, which included Rosenda Lemita, held a protest rally in front of the Department of Justice main office in Manila.
Lemita is the mother of Chai Lemita-Evangelista, who was killed with her husband Ariel in Batangas on March 7, 2021.
Police earlier claimed the couple and seven other activists killed in the operation resisted arrest and fought back, prompting them to return fire.
The police also linked them to the communist movement.
“As we commemorate the second-year anniversary of the Bloody Sunday raids and killings, we remain steadfast in our struggle and in our call for justice,” Defend Southern Tagalog spokesperson Charm Maranan said during the rally.
Maranan said although they welcome the court’s decision junking the cases against Nimfa Lanzanas and Ramir Corcolon, two of the activists arrested in the operation, justice remained elusive for the rest of the victims.
“We call on the Department of Justice to remain true to its mandate and serve justice to those slain and imprisoned. Two years have passed and we still have not found justice,” Maranan said.
The elder Lemita also reiterated their call for justice, saying: “Our family is hoping that they will get justice because they didn’t do anything wrong,” Lemita said.
Last January, DOJ prosecutors dismissed the murder complaint against 17 Calabarzon policemen for the death of labor leader Emmanuel Asuncion in Cavite, part of the controversial police operation.
Asuncion’s wife, Liezl, had asked the DOJ to reconsider its decision.
Aside from the Lemita couple and Asuncion, the other slain activists were Mark Lee Bacasno, Melvin Dasigao, indigenous group members Abner and Edward Esto and anti-dam advocates and Dumagat group leaders Randy dela Cruz and Puroy dela Cruz.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, who conducted an examination on the victims, said they “were really shot to be killed,” adding all had “shots in the chest area.”
