The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has decried the "brazen killing" of 38-year-old Rudy Steward Dugmam Sayen, also known as “Estee Saway,” a transgender teacher from Bangued, Abra.
It said that the police reported that Sayen was driving her motorcycle on the way to work at Suyo National High School last Sept. 28 when riding-in-tandem men tailed her. The suspects shot her multiple times in front of a carwash along Abra-Ilocos Sur Road in Barangay Lipcan, it said.
The CHR has welcomed the swift action of the Abra police, which led to the immediate arrest and filing of charges against five suspects.
It said that the police theorized that the motive of the crime is allegedly due to land dispute and personal grudges.
The CHR in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) is now investigating the killing of Sayen, and it denounced the incidence that "tramples on the utmost right to life," the CHR said in its statement issued on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
"As the country’s Gender Ombud, we equally draw attention to this crime being committed against a member of the lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) community, which similarly demonstrates this sector’s vulnerability to persistent hate and prevalent violence," the CHR said.
"In line with the State duty to protect the right to life, we expect truth and swift justice on this case and all similar cases of killings, especially those directed against vulnerable sectors," the CHR said.
"It is crucial that we consistently demonstrate that we are a nation of laws with high regard for human life by ensuring accountability on all cases to deter further violence and curb impunity," it added.
TAGS: #CHR; #LGBTQI