No Ordinary Man
Bayan Muna–Ilocos leader assassinated in Baguio
At 5: 10 p.m. March 9,
shoppers at the city’s public market were taken aback when a shot rang
out. The shot felled Romy Sanchez, 39, who was shopping for second-hand
clothes (ukay-ukay or wagwag, locally) for his children.
By Abi Taguba Bengwayan
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
|
BAGUIO CITY – At 5:
10 p.m. March 9, shoppers at the city’s public market were taken aback
when a shot rang out. The shot felled Romy Sanchez, 39, who was shopping
for second-hand clothes (ukay-ukay or wagwag, locally) for
his children.
Sanchez was secretary
general of Bayan-Ilocos and Bayan Muna party coordinator also in Ilocos.
Cordillera militants protest the
killing
of Sanchez as state terrorism
Photo by Joel Capulong |
 |
Arriving at the crime
scene on 3rd Kayang Street inside the market five minutes
later, two policemen asked bystanders if they recognized the suspect (s).
Other policemen cordoned the area, which is in front of the Cebuana
Lhuillier Pawnshop and the Western Union Bank. A string of ukay-ukay
stores is located on both sides of the narrow street.
Sanchez’s body was
later brought to La Funeraria Paz for autopsy and servicing.
Initial medico-legal
findings revealed that the bullet entered Sanchez’s lower left ear,
pierced through his brain and exited at his right temple. The bullet
killed him instantly.
The doctor who
performed the autopsy said that the firearm was possibly one meter away
from the victim. “Whoever did it made sure the victim died,” the doctor
commented. A .380 mm handgun was possibly used, findings say.
Sanchez’s companions,
who were in another ukay-ukay shop said they heard a loud bang, and
found Sanchez fallen and bloody.
A one-day vigil was
held at the Cathedral of the Resurrection along Magsaysay Avenue on March
10. An indignation rally led by militant groups here took place on the
same day. At around 5 p.m., candles were lit at the crime scene. Sanchez’s
remains were later brought home to San Fernando, La Union for the wake.
Sanchez is a resident of Cabaroan in San Fernando.
The burial will take
place on March 23.
Five children
Sanchez is survived
by wife Elvira, and five children namely, Arantxa Karizzah, Arianne
Karollyn, Romeo Alezzandro, Rosenda Kalayaan, and Angeliz Karynnah.
The CHRA believes
that AFP intelligence operatives are directly behind the killing.
But at 5 p.m. the
following day, the computer portal of Bombo Radyo Baguio reportedly
received a message from mobile number 09104372988 stating that
paramilitary group Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB)
in Ilocos is claimed responsibility for the killing.
A police sketch
described the suspected gunman as 34 years old, fair complexioned, medium
built, about 5’4” to 5’5” tall, and spoke in Iloko. The suspect wore a
black leather jacket, brown shoes and maong pants.
No ordinary man
Friends and
colleagues held a tribute to Sanchez before his remains were brought home
to La Union on March 10.
In a statement, the
Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) said that Sanchez was “no ordinary man”
and described him as “a brilliant propagandist, a dedicated organizer and
mass leader, and selfless activist of the national democratic movement.”
Since his involvement
in people’s issues, he was always under surveillance, his colleagues in
Ilocos said. Prior to his death, he received threatening text messages,
one specifically saying “maghanda na kayo, susunod kayo.” Elvira
also received threats in her cellphone prior to the killing.
Just on Jan. 6,
Sanchez confronted a group of unidentified men who were looking for
him.
Sanchez was one of
Abra 14, a group of activists criminalized and tortured in 2000 for
alleged involvement in the Conrado Balweg slay. The case was dismissed two
months later for lack of evidence.
“Romy suffered
extreme torture during detention,” said CHRA vice chair Beverly Longid.
“They were transferred from one military safehouse to another, from Rizal
to Bulacan and Manila. Romy’s head was badly injured. Even after their
release, surveillance continued,” she said.
Josephine Perez of
the Ilocos Human Rights Advocates (IHRA) said that after the Abra 14 case,
harassment and intimidation of members of people’s organizations
heightened.
Friend and STOP Ex
(Solidarity of Peasants against Exploitation) Secretary General Avelino
Dacanay described Sanchez as a person true to his word.
“Di ‘yan
nambibitin sa usapan. Isuna ket naragsak a kadwa ken kabsat”.
He and Sanchez worked together as broadcast anchors in DzNL then. “We were
like brothers. Once, while attending an activity in Baguio, he said he
wanted to build a house here to come home to for vacation. He was always
thinking of the children and their schooling,” Dacanay said.
Loving husband and
father
His widow, Elvira,
said that Romy was always firm, telling her not to worry despite
surveillance and threats to his life.
“Wala akong masabi
sa pagmamahal niya sa amin. Kapag nasa bahay siya, siya ang naglalaba,
nagluluto…nagde-decorate pa siya. Halos hindi ko ginagawa iyon dahil siya
ang gumagawa”, she said during
the tribute.
Romy would always
tell the children that it is always better to die fighting for what is
just and right, she said. He would always ask forgiveness from the
children whenever his work requires long periods away from the family.
Their second child,
Arianne, will graduate from elementary on March 30. She said Romy promised
to be there on her graduation.
State fascism
What happened to Romy
is part of a more systematic plot of the state to suppress the growing
militant mass movement, because they cannot handle it anymore,” said CPA’s
Joan Carling.
“The increasing cases
of cold-blooded assassinations against members of progressive
organizations are clear manifestations of the Arroyo government’s
desperate moves to silence the growing people’s movement,” the CHRA said
in a statement.
According to Bayan
Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, two Bayan Muna members are either killed or
abducted every 10 days. Just recently, Tarlac City Councilor Abelardo
Ladera, also a Bayan Muna member, was killed. Bayan Muna National Vice
Chair Manny Loste said that Bayan Muna members have become a hunted breed,
a favorite target of human rights violations.
Bayan Secretary
General Renato Reyes Jr. asked if there is a government policy to kill
activists belonging to Bayan, Bayan Muna and its other allied
organizations. “We fear that the military is on a killing spree, shooting
prominent leaders of the progressive movement,” he said.
The CHRA maintained
that the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime is accountable for Sanchez’s
death, and challenged it to “disband the real terrorists, not people’s
organizations with legitimate issues and concerns. Nordis / Bulatlat
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