Jose "Pepe" Manegded, aged 37 years and married with two daughters, was killed at around 10:00 in the evening on 28 November, 2005. He was found dead near a waiting shed along the national highway at Barangay Apatot, San Esteban, Ilocos Sur, Luzon, where he had been preparing to catch a bus to Manila to meet his wife on her return from Hong Kong.
About 30 minutes earlier he taken a tricycle from a nearby resort hotel where he had participated as a speaker and trainer at a paralegal training seminar organized by the Ilocos Human Rights Alliance and Karapatan. As he waited near the highway for a bus, a van reportedly approached and an unidentified man alighted. After speaking on his cell phone, the man reportedly drew a pistol and, when Pepe Manegded began to flee, chased him and opened fire.
The tricycle driver and sole known witness after seeing the man chase Pepe and, on hearing the shots, returned in fear to the resort to seek assistance to call the police. The autopsy report stated that Pepe Manegded was shot with a .45 semi-automatic pistol and suffered over 20 gunshot wounds.
A church worker and community activist, Pepe Manegded was a coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (Cordillera and Ilocos), a former coordinator of the Regional Ecumenical Council in the Cordilleras and an editorial staff member of ‘Writing on The Wall’- the official publication of the Northern Luzon Forum for Church and Society. Earlier in 2005, Pepe Manegded had also agreed to take over the duties of Bayan Muna coordinator in the Ilocos region following the killing by unidentified armed men of former Bayan Muna coordinator, Romeo "Romy" Sanchez, in March
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collator.peedee@yahoo.co.uk