By “A skilled journalist and writer, an active human rights defender, and a good friend.”
This is how colleagues, friends, and family remember RJ Nichole Ledesma, as hundreds paid tribute to his life at a church in Bacolod City on April 28.
He was a writer and editor of Paghimutad, an alternative media outfit on Negros Island, and the regional coordinator of the Altermidya Network on the island.
Ledesma was one of nineteen people killed in Brgy. Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental on April 19 in an alleged “encounter” between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. Residents, however, disputed the military, claiming the clash occurred elsewhere and alleging that civilians were killed by soldiers during military operations in nearby communities.
Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN) said Ledesma and his companions were in a different sitio at the time of the operations conducting activities with local farmers.
The community journalist was in Toboso to investigate the impact and possible human rights violations in Northern Negros related to the potential expansion of solar farms and other energy projects.
The group condemned the AFP for what it described as a failure to adhere to International Humanitarian Law, particularly in protecting civilians and non-combatants, and said the killing reflects a broader pattern of state violence.
“This is not an isolated case, but part of a broader pattern of violence fueled by intensified militarization in the province under Memorandum Order No. 32,” HRAN said.
“Ledesma’s killing is a stark reflection of a climate where truth-telling is met with violence, and where those who stand with the people are treated as threats rather than protected as citizens. His death demands more than mourning; it demands accountability,” the group added.
Various sectoral groups remembered Ledesma as someone who was always present to document their plight and amplify their struggles.
For his colleagues in Altermidya, he was always “curious” and eager to learn more—traits they said that defined him as a journalist.
As a journalist, Ledesma documented the real struggles of the people in Negros—from sakadas who till the lands of haciendas, to farmers who have been displaced from their lands for corporation-owned power plants, some of whom have been killed or maligned for fighting back, fisherfolk in coastal communities in the island affected by reclamation activities, to stories of resistance in the urban areas where people continue to fight for their right to basic social services.
Altermidya said Ledesma’s death is mourned not only by those who knew him personally, but also by the communities he served.
“We give the highest honor to our colleague RJ, who until his last breath served marginalized communities by immersing and reporting on their stories. Together with his family and colleagues, we demand justice for RJ Ledesma,” the network said.
Ledesma began his journalism career in college, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Spectrum, the official student publication of the University of St. La Salle.
He was a former chairperson of the League of Filipino Students–Bacolod and served as the seventh nominee of the Kabataan Partylist in the 2022 elections. He was active in grassroots campaigns in Bacolod City and across the Negros region.
Beyond journalism and human rights work, Ledesma was also a writer. He founded SPIT zines in 2017 and was a poetry fellow at the Silliman University National Writers Workshop and the 9th Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Writers Workshop./PT
