William Rom, head of the Research and Documentation Desk of SILDAP- Sidlakan, a tribal support group based in Butuan City, Mindanao, was killed on 17 July 1993. The murder occurred in Katikuyan, Surigao del Norte, as William Rom and another SILDAP-Sidlakan worker, Carolina Salas, returned from a research appraisal among the Mamanwa tribal community. Four members of the Citizen Armed Geographical Unit (CAGFU) approached and accused them of belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA). They then attacked them with machetes, killing William Rom and slashing Carolina Salas’ cheek. She subsequently managed to escape. This attack comes after the killing in February 1993 of another tribal activist, Chris Batan.
