"‘DOJ reso on the murder of activist Manny Asuncion, a grave injustice’- groups", 19 January 2023

Almost two years in, the Department of Justice dismissed a criminal case against 17 police officers involved in the death of labor leader and activist Emmanuel “Manny” Asuncion... According to the resolution released last January 17, there was no probable cause for the indictment of murder... stating that the 17 police officers were in the process of conducting legitimate police operations. Asuncion was a coordinator for Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Cavite. He was particularly involved in organizing workers and urban poor communities around the area. On March 7, 2021, he was killed alongside eight other activists in the Southern Tagalog region – an event now known as “Bloody Sunday.”... Rights group DEFEND Southern Tagalog condemned the decision, asserting that the DOJ’s insistence on “presumption of regularity” is a “grave injustice.” ...