28/05/2026
Today, we honor the life of Joshua Musico Sagdullas three years since his matrydom. Joshua served as the Regional Spokesperson and Secretary General of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Sinirangan Bisayas between 2018-2020. During his time with BAYAN, he led people's campaigns for economic, and civil and political rights in Eastern Visayas at a time of heightened militarization in the region under former President Rodrigo Duterte's Memorandum Order 32 which deployed additional state forces in Samar.
He stood with urban poor communities across Tacloban City who faced illegal demolition to give way to development plans related to the Leyte Ecological and Industrial Zone that prioritized big business interests. Joshua was instrumental in building alliances that advanced democratic participation and leadership in governance and development such as the Gios Taclobanon Kita an Pagbabag-o.
Working closely with Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas, he visited communities across Eastern Visayas to listen to the grievances of farmers and rural peoples whose lives were upturned by militarization, painstakingly documented their experiences, and mounted legal actions and campaigns that exposed the de facto Martial Law in the region. He staunchly called for the resumption of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
Before working with BAYAN SB, he was a prominent student leader. He served as the Chairperson of University of the Philippines Tacloban Student Council (2015-2016), and the National Chairperson of KASAMA sa UP (2016-2017) effectively mobilizing the youth in the free education campaign that led to the passage of the Free Tuition Law in 2017. He graduated with a degree in BA Political Science in 2017.
The de facto Martial Law in Eastern Visayas, including the brazen and relentless attacks against activists exemplified by the arrest of the "Tacloban 5" activists–Frenchie Mae Cumpio, Marielle Domequil, Alexander Philip Abinguña, Marissa Cabaljao, and Mira Legion–affirmed Joshua's revolutionary conviction.
According to tributes, Joshua embraced the revolutionary path, recognizing the need to struggle for a genuinely free society, and resist worsening oppression and exploitation after countless experiences immersing himself among various oppressed sectors.
An official statement by the New People's Army said that Joshua was captured alive, and, hence, considered a hors de combat when he was tortured and summarily killed by state forces on May 28, 2023 in Catarman, Northern Samar. He was only 26 years old.
We cry for justice for Joshua! Under the International Humanitarian Law, a hors de combat, who refers to a person who is no longer able to take part in hostilities, is legally protected from attacks and must be treated humanely in all circumstances.
The long-running civil war in the country is rooted in social conditions of landlessness, poverty, and chronic economic and political crises that are aggravated by the state's counterinsurgency policies that intensify militarization in rural areas, and vilify and perpetrate attacks against activists, people's organizations, and civil society. Genuine peace could only be realized by addressing systemic injustices.
We pay our highest tribute to Joshua Musico Sagdullas who spent his youth, energies, and many talents to serve the people of Eastern Visayas, and fight for system change and social justice.
Justice for Joshua Musico Sagdullas!
