Former journalist and rights advocate Ali Macalintal shot dead in General Santos City

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Ali Macalintal, a former broadcaster and human rights advocate, was shot dead inside an acupuncture clinic

MANILA, Philippines – A former journalist and human rights worker was killed in General Santos City on Monday, June 23, multiple reports confirmed.

Human rights group Karapatan said trans woman Ali Macalintal, a former broadcaster for RPN XDX, was shot dead on Monday. Macalintal served as Karapatan’s deputy secretary general for Soccsksargen.

Mindanao-based Davao Today reported that Macalintal was killed by an unidentified gunman while inside an acupuncture clinic at around 7 am on Monday.

Citing reports, Davao Today said the assailant entered the clinic and opened fire, then fled the scene with a motorcycle. Macalintal was brought to the hospital but was later pronounced dead on arrival after sustaining three gunshot wounds, said Davao Today.

As part of Karapatan, Macalintal co-organized and took part in several fact-finding missions in Mindanao to help victims of alleged human rights violations. She was part of the team that held a mission at the height of the martial law declaration in Mindanao under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.

“Karapatan calls for the swift investigation of the killing of Macalintal and to bring to justice the perpetrators of this gruesome killing,” the rights group said.

The police are verifying if the crime is related to Macalintal’s former work as a journalist.

“The killing of Macalintal, a transwoman, happened during Pride month, and just days after United Nations) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan presented her final report on the Philippines. Khan flagged that attacks on journalists have not shifted from the same patterns observed during past administrations, and that investigations into these crimes have been ‘slow’,” Amnesty International Philippines acting director Jepie Papa said.

Activist through and through

Macalintal was once part of groups Makabayan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), and Bayan Muna. She was once a victim of a trumped-up case and faced alleged torture under the hands of law enforcement groups.

In the early 2000s, Macalintal, two other Bayan Muna members, along with other individuals, were arrested and charged with two counts of illegal possession of explosives. They were tagged in the bomb attack at a department store that killed 15 people and injured 50 others, according to a Mindanews report.

Macalintal and the other activists were later cleared by General Santos City court in October 2010 due to lack of evidence. The police claimed they traced the suspects through a phone call, but in her affidavit, Macalintal said she was forced to make the call after she was held at gunpoint by two unidentified people who barged into her cousin’s clinic.

The former activist also suffered torture and trauma while detained. A report by Asian Human Rights Commission noted that Macalintal “spat blood due to police torture and suffered trauma” but “never had the opportunity to be checked by a professional psychiatrist, for lack of money.”

“I never thought that if the police and military want to have accomplishments for promotion it is so easy for them to do. They can arrest persons without evidence. It is easy to invent accomplishments for them. Just like that,” Macalintal said of his release at the time, as published by the commission. – Rappler.com