Ma. Lorena Sigua was arrested last September 19, 2021, days before the 49th anniversary of Martial Law. Police in civilian clothes from the San Jose Del Monte Bulacan PNP nabbed Sigua on false charge of murder under the criminal case No. 5965.
She is now detained at the City of San Jose Del Monte custodial facility and has been suffering from psychological torture to multiple interrogations without legal counsel, rights group Karapatan reports.
Ligua was a volunteer for Lumad Community Schools and an alumni of UP Diliman under the program of BA Communication Research at the College of Mass Communication. She was also a cultural worker in the Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center wherein she served as manager of poetry readings and stage plays, as production manager and as conductor of different cultural workshops. Sigua was also a member of the Concerned Students for Justice and Peace in UP Diliman.
Last month, UPD University Student Council (USC) Councilor Ajay Lagrimas received reports of surveillance by state forces. Meanwhile, in a webinar by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) held last September 22 in De La Salle University Lipa (DLSL), mass organizations were brazenly red-tagged. The event was boycotted by DLSL’s students.
As youth leaders and activists like Lorena are constantly victimized by the state, the transgression of cultural minorities and the unjust system of the Philippine government continue to pervasively violate the rights of its people.
#PalayainsiLorena
#JunkTerrorLaw
#StoptheAttacks
Featured image courtesy of Asia Pacific Report
