PM Statement on Negros 19

Partido Manggagawa joins the growing call for an immediate, independent, and impartial investigation into the Negros encounter that left 19 people dead, including a UP student and an independent media practitioner who reportedly were in the area for social research when the encounter happened.

 

The military’s claim of a legitimate operation does not settle the matter. The reported killing of non-combatants raises grave concerns of possible violations of international humanitarian law. Civilians, activists, and journalists are protected persons and must never be treated as casualties of war.

 

Accountability is non-negotiable. Any breach of the Geneva Conventions and human rights standards must be investigated and punished.

 

Beyond this incident, the cycle of violence will persist unless its roots are addressed. Government must confront the social and economic injustices driving the insurgency, while armed groups must reassess their strategy in winning power and pursuing political change.

 

Justice must be served. Lives lost demand nothing less. ###

Youth groups slam Parlade, support red-tagged celebrities

Youth groups slammed the red-tagging by Lt. Gen Antonio Parlade, commander of the AFP Southern Luzon Command, who threatened and harassed celebrities advocating for human rights. Liza Soberano was warned by Parlade after participating as a guest in a militant women group’s online forum. Aside from Soberano, Parlade also red-tagged Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Angel Locsin, whose sister was alleged as an underground activist in Quezon.

 

“We are all Liza, Catriona and Angel. Advocating for women's rights is not an act of terrorism nor a sign of being a member of a terrorist group. Speaking up for the rights of the marginalized and exploited is a right protected by the Constitution. It is impunity when death threats can be thrown at celebrities and activists on the basis of mere suspicion,” said Christine Pangan, Youth Claim Spokesperson. Youth Claim is a youth organization in Cebu composed of college students and community youth who stand for social justice.

 

Meanwhile Jonel Lalvador of Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan, stated that “Parlade's redtagging of Liza Soberano, Catriona Gray and Angel Locsin is the best argument against the Anti-Terror Law and exposes the abuses it will spawn.” PM-Kabataan is the youth wing of the militant labor group.

 

One of the most controversial provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law is the arrest of suspects without warrant and for mere suspicion, and detention for as long as 24 days. “Activism is not terrorism. It is clear that both are different but the current administration is blurring the distinction. Under the Anti-Terror Law, it is very alarming that activists can easily be red-tagged. Activists use their voice and act upon their goal to bring positive change so Parlade should stop conflating activism with terrorism. Stop red-tagging human rights organizations, religious groups, unions and the mainstream media,” said Pangan.

 

“We have this so-called freedom of expression and there is nothing wrong with it especially when you advocate for a greater good. We support women and everyone who speak out their minds, defend their rights and fight for the betterment of all. The pervasiveness of red-tagging will only worsen the Philippine government's human rights and violations. Now, that we have seen how military has red-tagged public figures, I hope we all realized how life-threatening it is especially to those people who lack money, fandom and legal connections to protect them,” asserted Labrador.

 

Pangan insisted that “The flimsy basis of Parlade to accuse Liza Soberano applies to all of us. We must be heard without being labeled terrorists.”

October 26, 2020

Labor group slam PNP for anti-union stations at ecozones, call on DOLE to enforce FOA

PNP, PEZA announce ecozone militarization. Photo by Rappler

The Philippine National Police (PNP), including its commander-in-chief, the President, cannot infringe on the right of workers to form unions. Doing so will be a clear violation of the Constitution, the Labor Code and international conventions that guarantee freedom of association (FOA), the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement sent to media.

The reaction came after the PNP regional office in Central Luzon on Friday launched the Joint Industrial Peace and Concern Office (JIPCO) in the Clark Freeport Zone that will serve, according to Central Luzon police chief Brigadier General Rhodel Sermonia, as “the first line of defense from radical labor infiltration of the labor force and the industrial zones.”

The launching had as guest speakers, presidential adviser on the peace process Secretary Carlito Galvez, newly installed Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Archie Francisco Gamboa, and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director Charito Plaza.

PM, a member of the country’s biggest labor coalition Nagkaisa!, demanded that the PNP, PEZA and OPA withdraw the program and for DOLE to enforce labor laws in ecozones, educate officials of the bureaucracy and security forces on labor rights, and prosecute the violators whether they are state officials or owners of capital.

“These officials were appointed to their offices to promote and defend the Constitution. But the launching of JIPCO is very clear on its purpose – to violate the Constitution. Therefore under the context of ecozones, it is clearly the first line of defense of foreign capital and not of the labor force,” lamented PM chair Renato Magtubo.

He added that “Even before the launching of JIPCO, ecozones in Central Luzon have been militarized. Soldiers and police harassed union leaders, sent threatening letters to labor organizers and held anti-union meeting with workers of the FCF Manufacturing Corp., a factory in the Freeport Area of Bataan that makes high-end leather bags.”

Magtubo reminded the PNP and PEZA that under the law, even employers who own the businesses and exercise direct control over their workforce are considered as mere bystanders, meaning they cannot interfere in labor activities, particularly on the right of workers to form unions as provided under the Bill of Rights and the Social Justice provisions of the Constitution.

“If these officials are ignorant of these basics on labor rights, then this Republic of Endos and cheap labor is really in a deep shit,” declared Magtubo who now sits as a city councilor of Marikina.

“In fact, Central Luzon in recent memory, is no longer a hotbed of insurgents but of ninja cops as shown during the Senate hearings. Contrary to the vicious propaganda peddled by security forces against trade unions, the Filipino workforce, especially in special economic zones or EPZAs, are defenseless not from insurgents but from intransigent anti-union foreign investors.  Indeed, the urgent need of workers inside ecozones are incorruptible labor offices or desks and not PNP detachments.” argued Magtubo.

“Militarization of ecozones is an escalation of the union busting efforts of PEZA. In other regions like Calabarzon and Cebu, PEZA has been conniving with foreign investors by temporarily closing down factories where workers have unionized. The most recent incident of this modus operandi is the closure of Sejung Apparel Inc. in the First Cavite Industrial Estate where workers are currently on protest,” Magtubo explained.

JIPCO, the group said, is hiding under the cover of peace building efforts but in reality it is a declaration of war against the trade union movement in the country. “We will not be cowed. We will continue to organize,” concluded Magtubo. 

24 January 2020

DOJ investigation must include all lumad killings in Mindanao and their relations to mining

Photo from Interaksyon.com

NEWS RELEASE

14 September 2015

The inter-agency probe being organized by the justice department must also include cases of lumad killings committed in other parts of Mindanao, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement.

The group issued the call in reaction to the announcement made by Malacanang yesterday that it is willing to conduct an investigation as demanded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and many other organizations here and abroad. 

“The killings of Lumad leaders by alleged paramilitary forces in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, including recorded cases of lumad killings in other parts of Mindanao, should give the government the idea that these killings were rather systematic than isolated in nature as claimed by the military,” said PM Chairperson Renato Magtubo.

According to PM, aside from the horrendous killings and forced evacuations of lumad populations in Lianga, there were similar cases of extra-judicial killings against lumads in other parts of Mindanao, particularly against leaders of the Tedurays in South Central Mindanao.

Some of these cases include the killings in 2014 of Timuay Leoncio Arig and Melencio Ramugon. 

Before their deaths, Arig and Ramugon were involved in campaigns to include IPs interests in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and unite the members of the tribes to protect their territory against intrusion, including mining.

Furthermore, the labor group observes a pattern of reluctance on the part of the police and military to pursue the perpetrators despite available witnesses, indicating a double standard in dealing with heinous crimes and in effecting justice.

“What the killers have done to lumad leaders, including the brutal murder of the director of an IP school in Lianga, were clearly terroristic in nature.  But why can’t the PNP and the AFP organize a special manhunt against perpetrators in the way they did against international terrorist Marwan,” lamented Magtubo.

Partido Manggagawa likewise supports the call for the disbandment of all paramilitary units organized by the military for anti-insurgency campaigns, saying that historically, these groups are mobilized to counter legitimate resistance such as anti-mining protests.