At least nine activists have been killed following simultaneous police raids in the northern Philippines on March 7, 2021, in what has been defined a "Bloody Sunday" by rights groups. The raids were carried out after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered government forces to “kill” and “finish off” all alleged communist rebels in the country. Six people were also arrested during the raids in three provinces surrounding Metro Manila, while at least six others “escaped”. Indigenous group leaders Puroy Berhemedo dela Cruz and Randy “Pulong” Berhemedo dela Cruz as among those killed in the Rizal operation. The victims' wives said that they were asked to leave their houses while their husbands stayed inside, where they were gunned. The Dumagats are a major and semi-nomadic indigenous group in Calabarzon, estimated to number around 30,000. Puroy and Pulong were both environmental activists with the group Dumagat Sierra Madre, which advocated for the rights of indigenous peoples, who fought against the Kaliwa Dam project in Rizal, Quezon.

Months after their deaths, the Congress released a cease and desist order against Kaliwa Dam due to their failure of acquiring free prior informed consent from the indigenous people of Dumagat.