Rights lawyers pay tribute to ‘fallen heroes’

Clarissa Ramos, wife of slain lawyer Benjamin Ramos (Photo by Kodao Productions)

By JOMARI ALEJANDRO III HERRERA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — “Marami palang Ben dito.”

This was the statement of Clarissa Ramos, wife of slain Negros-based human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos Jr., as his colleagues from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers paid tribute to their “fallen heroes” on Oct. 19.

Ramos was shot dead in the evening of Nov. 6, 2018 in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental. He served as the go-to lawyer for the farmers and other poor of Negros. Among the last cases he handled was the case of the infamous Sagay 14 massacre.

Read: Rights lawyer gunned down in Negros

Clarissa accepted a painting from Ben’s colleagues who gathered here in Rizal Park Hotel in Manila for the 5th National Congress of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).

“I urge the lawyers here to continue genuinely fighting for the people. Ben would always say there is nothing wrong with organizing and there is nothing wrong in defending the oppressed,” said Clarissa, adding that it is the “people will be the judge of our history.”

Apart from Ramos, the NUPL also paid tribute to lawyers Manuel Tan, Ramon Te, and slain lawyers Rodolfo Felicio and Concepcion Brizuela, one of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

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