By BACOLOD CITY, PHILIPPINES – Friends, family, human rights advocates, and church groups gathered on Sunday, August 17, to honor the memory of slain Bacolod activist Zara Alvarez, marking five years since her tragic death.
The memorial, held with a Mass and tribute program, brought together people from various sectors who remembered Alvarez not only as a passionate activist but also as a mother, colleague, and courageous defender of human rights.
Zara Alvarez was gunned down on the evening of August 17, 2020, in an alleyway inside a subdivision in Bacolod City. She was 39 years old at the time of her death.
A single mother and long-time human rights worker, Alvarez had dedicated much of her life to organizing grassroots communities and working with church-based and non-governmental organizations in Negros Island. Prior to her death, she had been a consistent target of state surveillance, red-tagging, and judicial harassment.
In 2014, Alvarez was imprisoned for over a year on what human rights groups described as trumped-up charges of murder—charges that were eventually dismissed. She had also been included in a list of individuals the Department of Justice once sought to proscribe as terrorists, a petition that was eventually thrown out by the court.
In March 2018, her face appeared on a tarpaulin circulated by the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office in Magallon, branding her as a communist insurgent. A year later, rights group Karapatan reported receiving a message containing a thinly veiled threat: Zara, it warned, was “the next target.”
At the memorial, members of Human Rights Advocates-Negros (HRAN) denounced the lack of progress in Alvarez’s case and condemned what they described as ongoing surveillance of her family by state security forces.
“Five years since Zara was murdered, police authorities have failed to conduct a thorough investigation,” HRAN said in a statement.
“Instead of pursuing justice, her family continues to face harassment and surveillance,” the group added.
The group vowed to continue Alvarez’s work, calling on others to carry forward her legacy of advocacy and service to marginalized communities.
“As we remember Zara on this day, we vow to continue her fight and to resist state terrorism,” the statement read.
“We must be relentless in demanding justice for Zara and for other victims of extrajudicial killings in Negros. We must resist state fascism and all forms of attacks on our democratic rights.”
HRAN concluded its tribute with a call to action: “Be a human rights defender like Zara. We need volunteers who can contribute their time, talents, and resources for the cause of justice and human rights.”
Zara’s death remains a stark reminder of the dangers faced by human rights workers in the Philippines, particularly in areas, like Negros Island, where state forces have targeted activists and dissenters. Yet despite these dangers, her life and legacy remain a powerful source of inspiration for those committed to justice, truth, and the defense of the oppressed.//PT
