A labor NGO welcomed today the release of a United Nations (UN) expert’s report that calls for reopening the investigation into the murder of a veteran labor organizer in light of new evidence and called on the government to heed the recommendation.

“Chasing Shadows,” the final report of Mary Lawlor, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, examined in detail the September 2023 murder of Jude Thaddeus Fernandez, organizer of national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU, May First Movement).
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mary-lawlor-8222148_chasing-shadows-investigating-the-killings-activity-7482725752979755009-Dzbh/
https://unredacted.uk/news/2026-07-chasing-shadows/

“Once again, human rights violations in the country have put the Philippines on the map. We thank Ms Lawlor for spotlighting Ka Jude’s murder and we are calling on the Marcos Jr government to heed the recommendation to reopen investigation into this case,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

CTUHR said that it is calling on everyone to read the report, which discussed Fernandez’ murder together with that of Fikile Ntshangase of South Africa, Thulani Maseko of Eswatini, Quinto Inuma Alvarado of Peru, and Maria Bernadete Pacifico of Brazil.

“Everyone who is interested in the state of labor and human rights in the country should read Ms Lawlor’s report. The report tackles the many irregularities in the police operation that killed Ka Jude and in the investigation into what happened,” Deligente added.

The report stated that there was no proof that Ka Jude fired on the police officers, that evidence on the case that were presented by the police are “missing and moving,” that the police failed to record the arrest, and that police and government narratives about Ka Jude are conflicting.

“The report highlights the fact that we live in a country where police and military personnel are ready to kill unionists and human rights defenders, allegedly in self-defense, but not record their supposed attempt to arrest and handling of evidence. There should be accountability for the wrongdoings that the report discusses in detail,” Deligente stated.

Lawlor’s report also showed that the Philippine government failed to respond to questions that her investigation raised; that the Philippine National Police (PNP) denied many crucial evidence on the case to the Commission on Human Rights; that the PNP Scene of Crime Operations’ (SOCO) handling of the investigation was faulty; among others.