Human rights group Karapatan condemned the recent death threats against a Bicol human rights lawyer and a transport sector leader and called for an immediate investigation and measures to ensure their safety.
Atty. Bartolome “Bart” Rayco, a National Union of People’s Lawyers member, received a death threat on Aug. 28 after two bullets tied with a black ribbon were found at the entrance of his family’s carinderia along with a note that read, “Atty. Bart Rayco MALAPIT KA NA!!”
The following day, transport leader Ramon Rescovilla found a bullet similarly tied with a black ribbon and bearing the message, “Ramon Rescovilla, MALAPIT KA NA!” inside a truck parked outside his home.
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said the threats should not be dismissed as mere intimidation.
“Karapatan will not dismiss these as mere acts of intimidation. A bullet left at someone’s home or place of work is a clear and chilling message that their lives are being deliberately placed in danger,” Palabay said.
Rayco previously served as counsel for Rescovilla, who spent four years in detention over alleged trumped-up charges before the remaining illegal possession case was dismissed in December 2025.
Palabay warned that threats against human rights defenders could precede actual violence by citing the killings of human rights lawyer Ben Ramos and Karapatan paralegal Zara Alvarez, who had both received death threats before they were killed.
“We should take these death threats seriously. A human rights lawyer who represented a targeted transport leader is now being threatened in the same manner as his former client,” Palabay said.
Karapatan also urged the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the incidents, identify those responsible and provide protection for Rayco, Rescovilla and their families.#