The Guardian – ‘He cared when no one did’: Filipino human rights lawyer Chito Gascón dies of Covid

The Guardian reports……..Gascón, who frequently clashed with Rodrigo Duterte over his ‘war on drugs’, has been hailed as a ‘true hero’ of democracy

José Luis Martín C Gascón, better known as Chito, leads families of victims of alleged extrajudicial killings as they call for a UN investigation
José Luis Martín C Gascón, better known as Chito, leads families of victims of alleged unlawful killings as they call for a UN investigation Photograph: Bullit Marquez/AP

José Luis Martín C Gascón used a walking stick to carry out his duties as the Philippines’ “courageous” human rights lawyer, a result of living with with diabetes and the wound it left on his right foot.

But in the words of his brother, Miguel Gascón, who confirmed his death on Facebook earlier this month, “of all the battles you fought, we had to lose you to Covid-19”.

The Filipino lawyer had chaired the commission on human rights (CHR), an independent constitutional body, since 2015, and was famous for his public confrontations with the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte – particularly over his “war on drugs”, which activists say has involved the unlawful killing of drug users and traffickers.

In the aftermath of his death on 9 October, at the age of 57, tributes have poured in for Gascón, known as Chito, with activists and scholars at home and abroad hailing “a true hero”, “a tireless champion” and “a giant for human rights”.

“Neither diabetes nor Covid-19 stopped him from serving the victims of human rights violations … under the most extreme pressure of a president who detests human rights to its core,” said Fides Lim, wife of the jailed peace consultant Vicente Ladlad, Filipino news website Bulatlat reported.

Read the full article at  https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/20/he-cared-when-no-one-did-filipino-human-rights-lawyer-chito-gascon-dies-of-covid