The militant Bayan Muna Party-list on Thursday condemned the assassination of the organization’s coordinator in a coffee shop in Iloilo City.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the traitorous murder of Jory Porquia, BM (Bayan Muna) Iloilo City coordinator, at 5:00 am today in his coffee shop at Brgy. Sto. Niño, Arevalo District, Iloilo City by unidentified men suspected to be assassins of the State,” said a statement of the group signed by Siegfred Deduro , vice president for Visayas.
This is part of the impunity in political killings aimed at terrorizing activists critical of Duterte’s administration, said Deduro.
Prior to this killing, Porquia was hounded by elements of Iloilo City PNP for leading relief operations and education campaign on COVID-19 among hungry residents of poor communities in Iloilo City. Though the mayor welcomed Bayan Muna initiative in assisting the local government unit in educating and feeding quarantined residents, this did not sit well with the Philippine National Police, the group said.
Bayan Muna claimed that the police prevented activists in doing volunteer work in fighting the pandemic, even to the extent of spreading blatant lies that food served by activist is contaminated with the COVID-19 virus.
Apparently, the PNP gets instructions from their generals ignoring the policies of local chief executives.
“Jory survived Marcos martial law, as a leading LFS leader resisting the fascist rule. After Marcos was ousted, he served as OIC member of the National Youth Commission under Cory Aquino. He worked as an OFW in the Middle East and later in China, where he was active in organizing and advocating Filipino migrants’ rights. Upon his return to the country, he briefly engaged in the construction business and worked as Migrante organizer in Panay. Jory was an active environmentalist. He was among the activists of the Madia-as Ecological Movement, which was instrumental in the banning of destructive commercial mining in Panay,” Deduro said.
Deduro added that Porquia was one of the founders of Bayan Muna and has been a consistent organizer and campaigner for the party-list.
He was also active in the Bayan Muna’s engagement in developing good relations with local political leaders in Panay.
Porquia ran as councilor but failed to win, under Mayor Jerry Treñas slate in 2007 elections.
Under the leadership of former NAPC (National Anti-poverty Commission), Porquia assumed the coordination of NAPC/BFAR projects in Panay in 2017-2018.
“Jory is a great loss to the progressive movement for social transformation, but will inspire Bayan Muna members and all activists to persist in advancing ‘New Politics’ against the tyrannical rule of the current administration,” said Deduro.
“We will always remember you, Kaupod Jory… as we turn our grief into liberating courage,” he added.