The revolutionary movement, human rights and progressive organizations and broad sectors of the people condemned the killing of Randy Felix Malayao, 49. Malayao was a consultant to the peace negotiations of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

He wast shot twice while asleep in a bus on pitstop in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya last January 30, at 2:30 a.m. The gunman fled in a motorcycle with his accomplice. Various groups, including the Communist Party of the Philippines, condemned the killing, believed to be have been a carried out directly by Dutere’s death squad.

The groups likewise condemned the AFP and PNP for circulating intrigues against Malayao and the revolutionary movement to cover up their crime. The fact is, Malayao has long been threatened, alongside other revolutionary personalities. He was listed in the proscription case filed by the regime last February 2018, though his name was delisted when the case was amended this January 18.

Malayao has been an activist since he was a student at the University of the Philippines-Miag-ao, Iloilo. He served as vice president for the Visayas of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines before moving on to organizing peasants in Cagayan Valley where his family resided. He was arrested in 2008 under the Arroyo regime and imprisoned for four years over trumped up charges.

After his release, he was taken in by the NDFP as consultant even as he continued working with mass organizations. In particular, he was a member of the Reciprocal Working Group on Political and Constitutional Reforms. Here, he exhibited acuity and deep understanding of the people’s conditions borne out of decades of revolutionary work among their ranks and enthusiasm for his work, as he did for all his other past responsibilities and tasks.
The NDFP remembers Malayao as a “a multifaceted man who is revolutionary to the core—an exceptional student, excellent writer and journalist, scientist, peasant and worker organizer, internationalist and peace and justice warrrior.”

To condemn the killing of Malayao and other victims of the regime, teachers, students and human rights organizations gathered in front of Quezon Hall in UP Diliman. There were similar protests in the University of Sto. Tomas and Far Eastern University, as well as protests by members of Courage and Kilusang Mayo Uno. Progressive groups also launched protests in Panay, Baguio and Laguna.