SLAIN Negrense human rights and health worker Zara Alvarez was laid to rest on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental. Her colleagues said any independent investigation on her cold-blooded murder should first look into State forces and their complicity and involvement — precisely because of the pattern of threats and vilification she and other slain human rights workers had been subjected to from the police and the military. As they grieved the loss of a colleague, they vowed not relent in their call for justice and an independent and impartial probe on her killing.
Over the years, Zara had been at the receiving end of harassment — from trumped-up charges and imprisonment to death threats and even judicial terror-tagging. She had been receiving death threats for years for her human rights work which started during the Arroyo administration and finally led to a trumped-up charge against her and to her illegitimate detention in October 2012 and her imprisonment for almost two years until she was released on bail in July 2014. She was acquitted for lack of evidence only in March 2020, eight years after first being charged.
Yes, Zara was among the more than 600 people that the Department of Justice wanted to declare as “terrorists” in a case filed in February 2018 and while her name was eventually removed from the list, colleagues believe “the signal had already been sent.”
Only through an independent and impartial probe can we bring the perpetrators of Zara to justice.
The impartial investigation should abide by principles of due diligence, full transparency, and uncompromising commitment to the delivery of justice and accountability. It should be conducted by credible institutions and personalities, with known track records of support for victims of human rights violations.
Also, it should ensure the participation and confidence of relatives of victims and human rights defenders. It should provide regular public reports on the status of the investigation.
Most importantly, it should remain independent from the influence of agencies or individuals who are seen as beneficiaries of such dastardly crimes.
