Free Lejun Dela Cruz!
February 4, 2025
KATARUNGAN strongly condemns the attempted killing of Lejun Dela Cruz, a dedicated leader of the movement for change, who continues to work for just and peaceful social transformation.
It appears that on February 2, 2025, an attempt was made on Lejun Dela Cruz’s life by unidentified motorcycle-riding men who later identified themselves as police officers. Lejun tried to evade his pursuers by driving away, resulting in a chase that ended in Manggahan, Pasig, where the men cornered him and only then identified themselves as police. Allegedly, they were arresting Lejun based on a Warrant of Arrest for a crime committed in 1992.
Thanks to the presence of many people and the vigilance of friends, Lejun was apprehended alive and brought to the hospital.
Ka Lejun has long advocated for the interests of farmers, workers, the urban poor, and other marginalized sectors in society. In the long struggle of farmers for agrarian reform and their other rights, situations like this are, unfortunately, not new.
For those seeking social change, such violations of citizens’ rights have become all too common. Many farmers are subjected to violence to silence their pursuit of rights, imprisoned on fabricated charges, or forcibly evicted.
The experience of the farmers of Hacienda Dolores, Porac, Pampanga, is a testament to this: despite being harassed and losing their leaders to violence, they still face numerous fabricated cases. The same goes for the farmers of Sumalo, Hermosa, Bataan, who have had to hide for long periods due to trumped-up charges. In Quezon and other provinces, many have been killed or imprisoned simply for seeking their right to land. To this day, justice remains elusive, and the government remains ineffective at delivering justice to victims of human rights violations.
The Bongbong Marcos Jr. administration must respect human rights and provide space for basic sectors to assert their rights peacefully.
Our calls:
Free Lejun Dela Cruz!
Stop the harassment of rights defenders!
Hold to account the police officers involved in the attempt on Lejun Dela Cruz’s life!
