As the case finally inches forward after months of silence, the family’s testimony stands as both a plea and a warning that state violence continues unchecked unless confronted head-on.

By Pajo Albano
Bulatlat.com

MANILA –  A year after 21-year-old Jay-el Maligday was killed by what his family insists were state forces, the fight for justice has finally moved forward.

On July 8, a clarificatory hearing was held at the Office of the Ombudsman where Jay-el’s brother Louijie Maligday testified about the circumstances surrounding the killing.

He recounted what the family believes was a cold-blooded act of violence committed by soldiers who they allege stormed their home and killed Jay-el in the guise of a military operation.

Read: Family of slain youth IP files charges vs military

Military officials claimed that the killing was the result of a legitimate encounter. The family, however, dismissed this as a mere generic defense to mask human rights abuses.

Louijie stressed that the family had no choice but to pursue legal action despite fear, harassment, and threats that have plagued them since the incident.

In April this year, the family submitted a reply-affidavit asserting that the military’s defense lacked any credible evidence and failed to justify the killing of a civilian.

He also said the family has been subjected to persistent intimidation, including attempts to pressure them into dropping the case.

According to Louijie, the same military forces implicated in the killing later conducted red-tagging seminars in their community and established a detachment near their home.

At the hearing, Brig. Gen. Randolph Cabangbang—formerly of the 203rd Infantry Brigade and now Acting Commander of the 9th Infantry Division—questioned why the Maligday family chose to file a complaint instead of approaching the military directly.

For Louijie, Cabangbang’s comment was both insulting and alarming. He said that there is no reason for Mangyan families like theirs to trust an institution that they believe has killed civilians without accountability.

Despite the case’s gravity and its ongoing legal proceedings, the Commission on Human Rights has not yet disclosed if it has conducted or concluded any investigation into the killing or the reported harassment faced by the Maligday family.

Bulatlat also reached out to the Office of the Ombudsman to request updates and access to relevant documentation, but it only commented that they “are only allowed to give information on pending cases to the parties and their counsels on record including their authorized representatives.”

The family’s decision to speak out, Louijie said, comes not from fearlessness, but from deep grief and the conviction that justice must be pursued no matter the risks. He acknowledged feeling nervous and unprepared, especially as a member of the Mangyan-Hanunuo community unfamiliar with legal proceedings.

Still, he insisted that those responsible for his brother’s death must be held accountable. Jay-el, he said, was a civilian who dreamed of graduating college and supporting his family. His death, Louijie said, is not just a personal loss, but a symbol of how vulnerable communities are being silenced through violence.

For the Maligday family, justice is not only about one case, but about protecting others from the same fate. As the case finally inches forward after months of silence, the family’s testimony stands as both a plea and a warning that state violence continues unchecked unless confronted head-on.

“For me, my family and I must attain justice for my sibling’s death,” Louijie said in Filipino. (AMU, DAA)