Slain activist’s kin seeks DOJ’s help

MANILA, Philippines — The son of slain activist Jose Reynaldo Porquia yesterday asked Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to direct the Administrative Order 35 Task Force (AO35) to investigate and solve the murder of his father.

The family decided to seek the help of the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the police failed to solve the incident that occurred in Iloilo in April last year.

Porquia’s son Lean went to the DOJ yesterday to submit a letter addressed to Guevarra.

The task force handles cases of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture and other violations of the right to life, liberty and security of a person.

Lean informed Guevarra that his father, who was a coordinator of Bayan Muna partylist, died due to 14 gunshot wounds.

It has been a year since the murder occurred, but authorities have yet to identify the assailants.

“My father’s case should be included in the AO35 as he was a victim of a brutal and demonic act of murdering an innocent man,” Lean said.

“We are nowhere in this investigation. We haven’t heard anything from the PNP since he was killed,” he added, referring to the Philippine National Police.

Lean said the family was never consulted or approached by any investigator in Iloilo City.

Porquia, an activist since the martial law years, had been red-tagged several times by the military and the police.

He was an environmentalist who advocated for ecological sustainability on Panay Island and organizer of the Madya-as Ecological Movement.

In 2016, President Duterte appointed Porquia as consultant of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.