Karapatan condemned the harassment of relatives of victims of the Bloody Sunday Massacre, who reported that they received unwanted calls and visits from state agents pressuring them against filing cases against the assailants or to withdraw any cases they have already filed.
The Bloody Sunday massacre was a region-wide dragnet on March 7, 2021 where nine Southern Tagalog activists were killed and four arrested by police and military operatives.
According to Karapatan Rizal, relatives of slain activists Melvin Dasigao and Mark Lee Bacasno, both residents of Kasiglahan Village in Montalban, Rizal, reported receiving such unwanted visits from agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The family of Randy and Puroy dela Cruz, also killed in the Bloody Sunday Massacre, likewise received an unwelcome visit on June 16, 2025 from elements of the Philippine National Police in Tanay, Rizal, to force them to stop any legal actions they may be planning against the perpetrators.
In both cases, the police and NBI agents offered “cash assistance” to buy the families’ silence.
“These attempts by State elements to obstruct the course of justice is truly deplorable,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay. “Four years have passed since the Bloody Sunday Massacre and not a single perpetrator has been punished,” she added. “Instead, the bereaved families are being threatened, harassed and intimidated.”
“In fact,” said Palabay, “the families of Bloody Sunday Massacre victims Manny Asuncion and Ariel and Ana Mariz Evangelista, whose quests for justice have been thwarted after investigations by the Department of Justice exonerated the perpetrators, have decided to file a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee.”
“Victims of horrendous human rights violations like the Bloody Sunday Massacre have always found it difficult to demand accountability from the country’s justice system,” said Palabay. “They have had to raise their grievances before international institutions in their continuing attempts to attain justice.”
“Karapatan will continue to support the Bloody Sunday Massacre victims and all other victims of human rights violations in their struggle for justice and accountability,” concluded Palabay.