The Ramento Project for Human Rights Defenders (RPRD) strongly denounced the killing of peasant activist James Flores who was shot dead last January 21, 2018 at a parking space of a mall chain in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
Flores, 33, was a resident of Mankilam village. He was a staunch peasant rights activist and a member of the Pederasyon sa tanang Asosasyon sa mga Mag-uuma ug Lumad sa Agusan ug Davao, a local farmer organization.
In an urgent alert posted by human rights group Karapatan, Flores was tying his groceries to his single motorcycle parked at the back of a shopping mall chain in Tagun at around 6:00 p.m. when an unidentified gunman peppered him with bullets.
The local Tagum police have already denied involvement in Flores’ killing.
“Extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration may not at all be that surprising, given that this president has repeatedly flaunted in his media interviews and public speeches that he has killed scores of people. But we would like to warn President Duterte not to be caught off guard or appear surprised when the time has come for the people’s quench for justice to be served finally prevails,” RPRD executive director Fr. Jonash Joyohoy said in a statement. (RPRD News)
(Photo courtesy of Bulatlat.com)
