Campus journalists honor Malayao death anniversary

By Juliane Judilla

ILOILO CITY — Campus publications under the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)-Panay chapter held activities on Jan. 30 to commemorate the life and legacy of CEGP alumnus Randy Malayao on the seventh anniversary of his killing.

In a statement, CEGP–Panay honored Malayao’s contributions to campus journalism and activism while renewing calls for justice.

“Seven years later, justice remains painfully out of reach,” CEGP–Panay said, adding that Malayao’s principles and service continue to inspire campus journalists and activists.

Malayao was killed at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 30, 2019, while asleep on a passenger bus parked at a terminal in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya. He was fatally shot by still-unidentified assailants, who reportedly fled the scene immediately after the attack.

Born in San Pablo, Isabela, Malayao graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas–College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, where he served as editor in chief of Ang Mangingisda, the official student publication of the college.

He was also a member of the Beta Sigma Fraternity and the founding chairperson of the League of Filipino Students–UP Visayas.

Elected vice president for Visayas of the CEGP in 1991, Malayao revitalized and expanded the guild’s presence in the region by reviving inactive publications, rebuilding struggling ones, and helping establish new student publications, before later serving as CEGP national deputy secretary general in 1994.

After his work in campus journalism, Malayao devoted himself to the peasant movement, served as regional coordinator of the Bayan Muna Party-list in Cagayan Valley, endured four years of imprisonment, and later became a peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, participating in international peace forums and negotiations.

Beyond calling for justice, CEGP–Panay reiterated its demand for the resumption of peace talks to address the roots of armed conflict.

“As we remember him today, the Guild affirms that as long as the Filipino people continue to suffer from corruption, landlessness, and bureaucratic capitalism, there will always be those who will rise in solidarity to fight for genuine national democracy and liberation,” the group said.

“Thus, we persist in calling for the resumption of peace talks to address the root causes of armed conflict and respond to the real, legitimate, and urgent needs of the people,” it added.

Meanwhile, staffers of Ang Mangingisda also paid tribute to Malayao through a photo activity, holding placards calling for justice for him and other victims of political killings.