By Marisol Bo-oc | 04:36 PM February 25, 2024
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) – Cebu Chapter condemned on Sunday over the killings of lawyer Hannah Jay Cesista and four other individuals, in Bilar town, Bohol last Friday.
Cesista, Domingo Compoc, Perlito Historia, Marlon Omosura, and Alberto Sancho, collectively known as “Bilar 5” were killed in a gunfight with government troops in Sitio Matin-ao 2 in Barangay Campagao in Bilar town.
A police officer was killed.
NUPL said that Cesista was a “Iskolar ng Bayan” who earned her Political Science degree from the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu.
READ: Woman lawyer killed in Bilar clash
As a college student, she joined various organizations aligned with her principles and beliefs – Youth For Christ UP Cebu Chapter, Cebu Students for Justice and Peace, and Kabataan Partylist UP Cebu.
She then enrolled in the University of San Carlos (USC) to pursue a law degree. During her law school days, Hannah volunteered at NUPL Cebu and was instrumental in forming the law students’ arm of the Cebu Chapter.
“NUPL Cebu members can attest to Hannah’s unwavering dedication and active involvement in the chapter’s activities in providing legal services to marginalized communities. She was always the first person to volunteer when lawyers needed assistance in the countless legal work of the organization. She joined community visits for paralegal trainings and discussions on human rights despite the demands of law school. Hannah also passed the 2022 Philippine Bar Examinations, ” it said in a statement.
The warrant of arrest was issued against Compoc and his cohorts. However, when they arrived in the area armed men fired against them.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Norman Nuez, spokesperson of the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO), said that military and police personnel were reportedly in the area to serve a warrant of arrest.
However, NUPL said that numerous reports have circulated concerning an alleged “encounter” between the New People’s Army (NPA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) at Sitio Matin-ao 2, Barangay Campagao, Bilar, Bohol last February 23, 2024, Friday.
“Contrary to law enforcement’s claims, initial reports received by NUPL Cebu show significant discrepancies and expose their possible commission of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations,” it said.
NUPL said several accounts support that no encounter has transpired.
” Instead, the five individuals were ordered to vacate the house where they were staying. The four men were forced to strip off their shirts. Along with Cesista, they were forced to roll in the mud. The witnesses narrated that they were pleading with state forces to stop their inhumane acts but to no avail, ” NUPL said.
” Killing Hannah and her companions is one of the many state-sanctioned efforts to harm activists, human rights workers, and dissenters- as part of their futile attempt to conceal the harsh realities of poverty and inequality in this country,” it added.
NUPL Cebu called on the Philippine government to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation and to hold accountable the perpetrators responsible for the deaths of” Bilar 5.”
