Youth and student groups gathered at the University of the Philippines-Visayas (UPV) on campus in Miag-ao, Iloilo and at UP Los Baños in Laguna on January 30 to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the martyrdom of Randy Malayao, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace talks consultant. They lit candles and held a short program.

Two armed men shot and killed Malayao on January 30, 2019, at 2:30 am. He was asleep inside a bus that stopped in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya.

In UP Visayas, organizations and students recognized Malayao’s advocacy and legacy. Malayao graduated with a BS Fisheries degree at the UP Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS). He served as the college newspaper Ang Mangingisda’s editor-in-chief, League of Filipino Students-UPV founding chairman and a UP Fisheries Guild and Beta Sigma Fraternity-UPV member during his student days.

In the program, representatives of UP Beta Sigma Fraternity-UPV, LFS-UPV, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)-Visayas, and UP Fisheries Guild gave their respective messages and awards. They amplified the call for justice in the killing of Malayao by state forces.

Apart from his roles in UPV, he was elected CEGP Visayas vice president from 1991 to 1994. He was then appointed as CEGP National Deputy Secretary General.

Following this, he became a peasant organizer and served as a Bayan Muna Party-list coordinator in Cagayan Valley. In 2008, Malayao was imprisoned for four years under the Arroyo regime where state forces subjected him to torture. He became an NDFP peace consultant after his release.

At UP Los Baños, UP Beta Sigma Fraternity-Los Baños led the commemoration activity for Malayao. “We are unapologetically proud of Betans who have answered the highest calling of fundamental change and have given their lives to a just and lasting peace,” according to the group.

They added, may many more follow your footsteps in outliving our pursuit for peace and prosperity for all.