Various marginalized organizations honored Kabankalanon human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos on Thursday, November 6, in Barangay Binicuil, Kabankalan City, marking seven years since his killing, which remains unsolved.
Ramos, 56, fell victim to two motorcycle-riding assailants who shot him on the evening of November 6, 2018, in Barangay 5, Kabankalan.
Rights groups and the international community condemned the killing, widely linking it to his work defending farmers and human rights defenders.
Mariano Tito Mejorada, chairperson of the September 21 Movement, said Ramos “has not received justice even after seven years” and described his death as “brutal and merciless,” leaving lasting pain among those who loved and respected him.
Mejorada added, “He handled cases for leaders involved in land disputes, criminal cases filed against farmers by large landowners, and political prisoners wrongly charged. Together with his colleagues, he tirelessly served the people.”
Ramos worked with Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG) as an executive director to empower farmers and farmworkers through legal assistance and advocacy.
He also provided pro bono support to marginalized groups, including peasants, environmentalists, political prisoners, and human rights defenders, Mejorada said.
The lawyer was also a founding member of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and served as Secretary-General of its Negros Occidental chapter.
Among his notable cases, Ramos represented the Mabinay 6, who gained release in September 2025 after more than seven years in jail on trumped-up charges.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) in Belgium remembered Ramos as someone who “believed that justice should not be a privilege for the few, but a right for all.”
Meanwhile, the farmer-led network of people’s organizations MASIPAG reiterated its call for justice and accountability for those responsible for his death.
They condemned the ongoing attacks against people’s organizations (POs) and human rights defenders and urged an end to the climate of impunity and shrinking democratic space.
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.