As a retired professor at the University of the Philippines, I am devastated and outraged at the death of UP Diliman student leader Alyssa Alano, who was slain in a military offensive in Negros Occidental, along with 18 others. The Philippine Army’s official position that all casualties are members of the “Communist Terrorist Group” must be seriously scrutinized.
Many young people like Alyssa visit the countryside to investigate the lives of deprived communities, and there are credible claims that she was not a combatant but a bystander and collateral damage in an armed encounter.
All who are concerned with human rights and democracy must call for genuine peace, which starts with the cessation of violence but can only come about when the systemic conditions that produce armed insurrection are properly addressed.
I echo the calls of the broader community for justice, accountability, and peace. I call for both sides to end the bloodshed. I ask the President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, to command the AFP to immediately halt its military offensives and let the civilian government initiate peace negotiations with the insurgents.
Professor Walden Bello (Ret.)
Amnesty International’s Most Outstanding Defender of Human Rights Awardee, 2023