By KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Nearly six years after surviving an assassination attempt, community journalist and human rights advocate Brandon Lee and his supporters were denied entry at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco on July 28, as they tried to deliver letters demanding accountability for the attack.

Lee, a U.S. citizen who was living in Lagawe town in Ifugao, with his wife and daughter, was shot in front of his home on August 5, 2019. At that time, he was a correspondent for Northern Dispatch.

His advocacy involves volunteer paralegal work for the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance and support for the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM) in their campaigns. Before the attack, Lee had been red-tagged by state forces and had received death threats along with IPM leaders.

Lee was with the Malaya Movement and the San Francisco Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines to deliver letters they had collected. Twenty-nine letters, written by Lee and concerned community members, church and labor leaders, and youth and student organizations, urged the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to reopen the investigation into his case and pursue full accountability.

A video posted on the Justice for Brandon Campaign page showed security personnel blocking the group at the entrance, refusing to accept the letters before turning the delegation away.

“Unfortunately, I cannot receive them and they’re not receiving letters anymore… I have no contact with the consulate anymore… I’m sorry I can’t get you guys in right now,” the security personnel told the group.

Lee’s group said that despite being the designated contact point for the CHR, the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco has not responded to repeated email communications regarding the case. This has raised concerns among advocates about the consulate’s role in protecting human rights and supporting Filipino citizens and residents abroad.

Besides collecting letters in the weeks leading up to the July 28 visit, the Justice for Brandon Lee Campaign also mobilized a contingent during the recent Northern California People’s State of the Nation Address (PSONA). Among the issues they highlighted were the lack of justice in Lee’s case and broader patterns of repression and impunity in the Philippines.

With no significant developments in Lee’s case nearly six years after the attack, the group continues to call for transparency and support from the CHR and the Philippine Consulate. They also encourage the public to send letters to the CHR for a renewed investigation and government accountability until August 5. #nordis.net