Vicente Sorio

On May 3, 2015 four farmers were walking towards Matuguinao proper when they were indiscriminately fired at by three armed men. Vicente Sorio and Alfredo Diaz were hit while their companions were able to drop down to the ground and escaped the bullets. After the shooting, the farmers who survived ran to get help from local government officials. They brought Alfredo and Vicente to the hospital in the hope of saving them but Vicente Sorio was pronounced dead. Alfredo on the other hand was able to tell who their shooters were before he also died after about 20 minutes. The identified killers were three paramilitaries from the 87th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Matuguinao, Samar.

The families of Alfredo and Vicente filed cases in court against the three perpetrators but up to this date, there were no investigations made by authorities.

Alfredo Diaz and Vicente Sorio were members of Matuguinao Small Farmers Association and ANAKPAWIS (a pro-labor and pro- peasant partylist).


If you would like to provide a personal recollection, please email us at: HRDMemorial@frontlinedefenders.org

Region:Asia-Pacific

Country:The Philippines

Department/Province/State:Samar

Sex1:Male

Date of Killing:03/05/2015

Previous Threats:Yes

Type of Work:NGO member

Organisation:Matuguinao Small Farmers Association & ANAKPAWIS

Sector or Type of Rights the HRD Worked On:Civil and Political Rights

Sector Detail:Peasant Communities

More information:karapatan.org

1This database records an individual's chosen gender identity. If they do not self-identify as male or female they can use the option of recording other/neither or use the term NBGI (non binary gender identity).

URLs (links) of Interest
Village chief shot dead: Samar police director admits rise in killings
http://www.philstar.com/region/2015/05/12/1453900/village-chief-shot-dead-samar-police-director-admits-rise-killings
For further information contact

karapatan@karapatan.org