Youth worker slain in Mindoro clash

Lucena City, Philippines  – Youth organizations and human rights advocates led by Anakbayan Timog Katagalugan and Karapatan Southern Tagalog condemned the Armed Forces unit in Mindoro for violating the ceasefire agreement with the New People’s Army (NPA), leading to the slaying of a young cultural worker.

Stephen Lester Barrientos, 19 years old and a member of the Southern Tagalog Cultural Network, was allegedly killed by the AFP’s 80th Infantry Battalion when the military launched an offensive in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on Dec. 23.

Karapatan said Barrientos was set to visit his father who was in the area that day.

“He was happy because of the ceasefire. Before he left for Mindoro, he was excited and even confident that no harm would happen in his visit because of the truce,” Neil John Macuha, Anakbayan deputy secretary general, said.

The Lucia de Guzman Command (LDGC)-NPA Mindoro said the 80th IB made an “act of betrayal” when they launched an offensive against an NPA team stationed in Barangay. Bayotbot midnight of Dec. 23.