Human rights defender Butch Rosales shot and killed in Cebu
On 8 August 2018, Butch Rosales, human rights defender and Rise-Up volunteer was shot and killed in broad daylight on his way to Mandaue, Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province.
Butch Rosales was a human rights defender working for the issues of the urban poor as a labour organiser. He was also a volunteer of Rise Up for Life and for Rights, supporting and organising families of victims of the Philippine government’s so called ‘war on drugs’. Rise Up is a network of human rights defenders and volunteers working for protecting life and human rights in the face of the ‘war on drugs’ and related extra-judicial killings and violations under the Rodrigo Duterte government.
On 8 August 2018, Butch Rosales, human rights defender and Rise-Up volunteer was shot and killed in broad daylight on his way to Mandaue, Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province.
Butch Rosales was a human rights defender working for the issues of the urban poor as a labour organiser. He was also a volunteer of Rise Up for Life and for Rights, supporting and organising families of victims of the Philippine government’s so called ‘war on drugs’. Rise Up is a network of human rights defenders and volunteers working for protecting life and human rights in the face of the ‘war on drugs’ and related extra-judicial killings and violations under the Rodrigo Duterte government.
On 8 August 2018, Butch Rosales boarded a public utility jeepney on his way to Mandaue. He occupied a seat in the front of the jeepney and was shot by an unidentified assailant from the back of the jeepny. The human rights defender was shot multiple times in the head and died instantly. The assailant escaped with another unidentified man who was waiting with a motorcycle nearby. Neither of the perpetrators wore masks, which points to their brazenness accelerated by the climate of impunity that prevails in the Philippines.
Front Line Defenders reported the killing of 60 human rights defenders in the Philippines in its latest Annual Report.
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the killing of Butch Rosales, which it believes was solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful activities in the defense of human rights in the Philippines.
