Zara Alvarez

In a manifestation filed with the Supreme Court of the Philippines on 1 September 2020, Karapatan said Alvarez was supposed to be a witness on the red-tagging and harassment of human rights workers.

On 17 August 2020, at around 8 pm, she was reportedly shot several times by unidentified gunmen along the Sta. Maria Street in Eroreco, Barangay Mandalagan, Bacolod. She was apparently targeted by gunmen while she was heading home after buying dinner.

She was killed on the day of the funeral of peace activist Randall Echanis, who was assassinated on 10 August 2020. She was the 13th member of Karapatan to be murdered since Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016.

Her murder sparked hot debate in the international community criticizing the newly passed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (Republic Act No. 11479), a measure giving the government more powers to act against persons or groups falling under what critics say is a dangerous and vague definition of terrorism.

In 2018, she was purposely included in an official terror list among 600 individuals by the Duterte administration to silence her. She was detained by the Philippine National Police for nearly two years until 2020.

Zara Alvarez (25 March 1981 – 17 August 2020) was a Filipina human rights advocate, educator, paralegal, and prominent social activist who predominantly campaigned against human rights violations during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. She was well known for her active campaign to protect human rights in the Philippines, which became a matter of concern during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. During her career as a human rights activist, she was often a prime target of political mafia and reported to have received numerous death threats due to her active campaigns against human rights violations. On 17 August 2020, she was assassinated by unknown gunmen. According to human rights groups, her murder suggested a serious major crackdown against human rights activists and civilians in the Philippines.