They can sow terror in me but I remain steadfast and resolute, as long as injustices continue. I may tremble for a moment, but with the support and love of the people that surround me, I can overcome it.

Zara Alvarez, Warrior for Justice, 2019

Exactly one month ago, on August 17, 2020, a renowned human rights activist, health worker, and champion for marginalized Negrense named Zara Alvarez was shot in cold blood six times outside a convenience store in Eroreco, Bacolod City. Her murder would send shock-waves throughout the human rights community worldwide, especially since it only happened 72 hours after another agrarian reform advocate, NDF peace consultant, and peasant rights activist Randy Echanis was brutally stabbed to death by five men who broke into his apartment.

Ms. Alvarez’s murder marked the 13th death of a member of Karapatan Alliance Philippines since Duterte assumed office in 2016. However, before she was abruptly halted by death in her fight for justice & equality, she had been subjected to various threats towards her life, harassment by authorities, and injustice from the justice system.

Being left behind is not only her 11-year old daughter, but also a dent in the vital human rights work in Negros Island, an island whose histories of private armies, rebels, and mass marginalized sectors have seen more than 90 killed in just the past two years.

Aside from an activist, she was also a nurturing mother whom colleagues state bonded with her child over cooking. Her daughter was only three years old when Ms. Alvarez was unjustly imprisoned back in 2012.

Humble Beginnings of Ms. Alvarez

Since her youth, Zara Alvarez actively campaigned for a more just and fair society, in an island described by former Marcos-era activist and Bishop Antonio as “a social volcano, one that could erupt anytime.” Despite her small stature and young age, she became chairperson of Anakbayan Negros. She grew up close to the church in Cadiz City, stating this as one of the reasons why she became involved in the advocacy for human rights & justice.

Bishop Gerardo Alaminaza from the Diocese of San Carlos recounts that Alvarez was always zealous to organize various sectors–be they farmers, drivers, peasants, or church workers.

Her active involvement in the Church People–Workers Solidarity is worth of emulation, always reminding us to be prophetic in our work of evangelization and social justice. Zara, they took your life, believing that they can silence the cause you are fighting for. But no, Zara, your martyrdom in the cause for justice will inspire us to advance the cry for justice–the cry of the oppressed.

Bishop Gerardo Alaminaza, Diocese of San Carlos, recounting his memory of Zara Alvarez and his grief-stricken sentiment

Bespectacled yet indomitable: Zara’s Work in Human Rights

Eventually she became to be a part of the Karapatan Alliance Philippines–Negros as a Campaign and Education Officer and BAYAN-Negros as Deputy Secretary General before becoming a paralegal for both groups later on, as well as an advocacy officer for the Negros Island Health Integrated Program for Community Development.

Her work eventually led her to fact-finding missions to far flung places in the island to document human rights violations, such as arbitrary arrests and killings done against farmers and the rural poor in areas such as Sta. Catalina, Sagay, Escalante, Kabankalan, Bacolod, and all over Negros.

Alvarez also led the conduct of national and international fact-finding missions on peasant killings and rural militarization, such as of the Sagay Massacre which occurred last 2018. As one may imagine, this constantly landed her in hot water with authorities. Yet, she persisted in her mission, saying:

The stories of victims of human rights violations must be heard. So I prepared myself mentally for an extrajudicial killing, or enforced disappearance, but I was not prepared for the trumped up charges I am facing now.

Interview with D+C Development and Cooperation journal

Arrest from authorities; tagged as terrorist

On October 30, 2012, more than 30 fully armed men, composed of the Special Action Force (SAF) and members of the 62nd Infantry Battalion arrested Zara Alvarez at around 6 pm in front of the Cadiz City Public Market, framed for the death of 1st Lt. Archie Polenzo of the Philippine Army around two years earlier. She was taken away from her daughter who was only 3 years old at the time.

Alvarez’s detention drew widespread condemnation and launched a cause labeled “Free Zara Alvarez”, campaigning for her release. While being imprisoned, she wrote the following, posted on the Free All Polticial Prisoners blog:

Being locked up in a prison cell, deprived of my liberty, could not hinder me in cultivating freedom from injustice. Many are still languishing in jail and a lot who are threatened to face the same situation like us.

Zara Alvarez, Free All Political Prisoners Blog, Letter to International Human Rights Organizations and the United Nations

Eventually, she was granted bail in 2014 after two years in jail. 8 years after the case had been filed against her, in March 2020, was Zara Alvarez finally acquitted. However, the damage had already been done.

Only a few years after was she released from prison did attacks and killings against human rights workers, farmers, laborers, peasants, lawyers, and politicians exacerbate further under the Duterte administration. Despite promising peace talks between the CPP-NPA and the government during his 2016 campaign which garnered the trust & support of many, the populist dictator would show his true colors and backtrack from his statement two years later with the launch of Memorandum Order 32 on November 2018, increasing military presence in the island along with “Oplan Sauron”, aimed to “suppress lawless violence in the areas of Negros, Samar, and Bicol”. However, the said move has only intensified violence against innocent civilians up to this day.

Alvarez was one of the 600 people tagged as terrorists in a proscription case filed in 2018, and tagged as communists & enemies of the state. Among those killed then was renowned human rights lawyer and National Union of People’s Lawyer chairman Benjamin Ramos, who was gunned down on the same month MO 32 was passed.

Zara’s undying spirit of “Padayon”; An Inspiration to the Youth

Despite the the threats she faced from the government and politicians who persecuted her work for justice, Zara Alvarez soldiered on her mission for an equal, peaceful, and just Negros Island. Amidst intensifying military presence in Negros, she continued her persistent critic and protest against Memorandum Order 32.

Eventually, she became part of Defend Negros, a network formed to moitor and expose the rampant human rights violations in the island after MO 32 was implemented.

In an interview with Rappler dated August 18, 2020, Clarizza Singson stated that Ms. Alvarez was the type of human rights worker everyone aspired to be.

Isa siya sa mga pinakamasigasig magtrabaho sa Negros na kahit kung minsan sinasabi niya na pagod na siya, akala niya hindi niya kaya, pero siya ‘yung taong hindi umaayaw. Makakapagpatunay ang lahat ng sektor, political prisoners, at communities kung saan siya nagsilbi kung paano siya magtrabaho at tumulong kahit na alam mo na ibang klaseng threats ang hinaharap niya. (She’s one of the most enthusiastic human rights workers in Negros, even though she’d state she’s tired or not up to the task, it is she, herself, who will take on the work and diligently follow through. All sectors, political prisoners, communities that she has served can testify to how hardworking and helpful she is, amidst the threats that faced her.)

Clarizza Singson on Zara Alvarez’s work for marginalized sectors in Negros Island

Throughout 2019, Ms. Zara Alvarez would also be a key pillar in aiding the new generation of youth activists involved in environmental activism, gender equality, and human rights. Despite constantly being busy in her work documenting and aiding those who have been wronged by the justice system or tagged as NPA rebels, Ms. Alvarez made time to attend the youth’s various events such as the “The Return of Pride” LGBTQ+ Equality Pride Parade in Bacolod, Global Youth Climate Strike, and even this year during their protests against the Anti-Terror Law.

Various youth from the newly formed Bacolod Youth Alliance and League of Filipino-Students attest to how she was like a second-mother and a “manang” (older sister) at the same time, especially during mobilizations. One member of the Bacolod Youth Alliance (identity is concealed due to ongoing threats) recounts on how she protected them when they were protesting in Rizal Park and in front of Bacolod Rep. Greg Gastaya’s office last June 2020 from authorities who were taking their photos without permission and threatening arrest to civically-active teenagers.

Zara Alvarez was also vital in documenting human rights abuses, covering ground mobilizations when other team members couldn’t make it, sharing her wisdom and knowledge about all she has documented, and passing on her principles of justice and courage in reporting the truth.

Towards the final days of her short-lived time whose marginalized people she gallantly fought for, she never stopped even one moment in her quest of human rights, better governance, and an end to injustice in the island of Negros; still documenting human rights abuses left and right, and persistent in the long-honored virute of “Padayon” or the unrelenting spirit of pushing forward despite the odds.

Zara Alvarez is an inspiration to everyone, even those not involved in activism, to be advocates for truth and justice, and to stand our ground on morals and principles, no matter how insurmountable the odds come may.