30 April 2020

An activist leading relief efforts for people affected by the “enhanced community quarantine” in the central Philippine city of Iloilo was shot dead in his home early morning of April 30.

The killing came amid government warnings against “unauthorized relief operations” in areas under lockdown.

Reports said four men barged into the beachside cottage and coffee shop of Jory Porquia, city coordinator of leftist political party Bayan Muna, and shot the activist.

Two of the masked men reportedly held a passerby and pointed guns at witness to prevent them from calling for help.

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A former migrant worker and labor rights advocate, Porquia was student leader during the years of martial law and later a member of the National Youth Commission.

He was former local coordinator of agriculture and fisheries projects for the National Anti-Poverty Commission of the government.

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