The chair of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in Bulacan was killed the other night. This brought the number of political killings this year to 26, based on Karapatan’s tally.
Santiago “Ka Santi” Teodoro, chair of Bayan’s Bulacan chapter, was driving a car when unidentified assailants shot him. His wife, who was with him at that time, survived the attack. His comrades condemned the attack.
The killing occured even as left-leaning party-list representatives are being accused of participating in a plot to bring down the Arroyo government. Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran remains detained at a police hospital while his four colleagues are under the House of Representatives’ protective custody as the police threatens to arrest them.
According to Karapatan, in Central Luzon alone, 12 activists were killed this year. The number of political killings since 2001 could be as high as 6000, the human rights group said.