Bacolod BPO labor organizer killed

MANILA, Philippines – The BPO Industry Employee’s Network (BIEN) Pilipinas on Tuesday, April 25, said the body of a man found near a chicken coop in Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City, was that of Alex Dolorosa, its paralegal officer.

URGENT ALERT: we received reports that our paralegal officer in Bacolod City, Alex Dolorosa, was found dead with stab wounds yesterday. He was reported missing for 3 days and local reports confirmed he was killed in Brgy Alijis, Bacolod City. pic.twitter.com/FFRB8v4lHJ

— Lean Porquia #ResistTheFascist (@IanMakabayan) April 25, 2023

The Bacolod Police Station 7 said Dolorosa was found with multiple stab wounds early Monday, April 24, in the property toward the rear of Acco Housing.

A case summary released by BIEN described the 38-year-old Dolorosa as a full-time organizer and paralegal officer for the labor organization. He joined BIEN in 2016 as a volunteer.

Dolorosa was a native of Cadiz City but moved to Bacolod after working in a call center.

Dolorosa was also an LGBTQIA activist under BEGLAD, which also focuses on BPO workers.

According to the initial report of the police, Dolorosa was killed sometime between midnight to 4 am of April 24.

The last time that the victim was seen alive was on the evening of April 23.

A BIEN officer told Rappler that Dolorosa was in a friend’s house and left in the evening.

He later told the same friend in a message that he was having dinner at the New Government Center.

His best friend tried to call him Sunday night until Monday but got no response.

BIEN said Dolorosa had experienced “state surveillance and harassment on January 25, 2021; January 4, 2022; and May 4, 2022. The incident happened in the BIEN office. He felt threatened and left the office.”

The BIEN officer said the first harassment incident was at the office of militant party-list organization Bayan Muna in Bacolod City, while the second and third incidents were at the local Gabriela office.

During one of the Gabriela incidents, Dolorosa took a video of a surveillance team’s vehicle, causing the driver to speed off, the BIEN officer said.

Dolorosa had also reported seeing two men surveilling his residence in Bata Subdivision.

The experience prompted him to move residences. – Rappler.com