Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman was
assassinated inside the University of the Philippines Diliman campus 23 years
ago today. Nobody claimed responsibility for his murder, but his comrades in
the labor movement do not rule out state involvement by many means, as the
revolutionary labor leader played a key role in mass mobilizations during
important social issues of his time, including charter change.
Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chair
Renato Magtubo, a union president and a partylist representative then,
remembers Ka Popoy as someone who adapts to the changing political landscape
without losing his revolutionary commitment.
He cited as an example that Lagman
popularized the slogan ‘Rebolusyon Hindi Eleksyon’ in anticipation of the transition
of power from Cory Aquino to Fidel Ramos during the 1992 elections, as well as
the ‘Resign All’ call during the anti-Erap struggle, as he deemed that a Gloria
Arroyo takeover of power won’t change anything, which proved prescient.
At the height of Edsa Dos
people power, Lagman’s group pushed for the idea of having a caretaker
government to be headed then by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, while other left
groups supported Gloria Arroyo.
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap na
ang panibagong people power ay magbunga lang ng isang Gloria. Dahil para lang
nating pinalitan ang bigote ni Erap ng nunal ni Gloria,” Magtubo recalled Ka
Popoy saying these words in disgust over the dire prospect of a simple regime
change instead of the possibility of system change.
On February 6, 2001, he was shot
dead while he was in the thick of preparations for the launching of Partido
Manggagawa (PM). PM was founded by working class leaders on February 12, 2001,
the same day Ka Popoy was laid to rest through a massive funeral march from UP
to Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.
“Kung nabubuhay lang si Ka
Popoy ngayon, malamang ibabalik niya ulit ang kanyang naunang paninindigan noon
laban sa charter change na ‘Baguhin ang Labor Code, Hindi ang Konstitusyon,’”
Magtubo explained. At that time, labor groups were pushing for ‘CBA ng Uri’ as
they find in the Labor Code many provisions that prohibit the free exercise of
labor rights, including the freedom to organize and to strike as provided under
the Constitution.
Today PM pursues a similar
line, “Chicha hindi Chacha”, as it finds the motives behind the new push for
charter change remain to be the same—dynastic lust for power and service to
foreign capital—that runs counter to workers’ most urgent concerns on high
prices, low wages, unemployment, and other demands for economic relief.
Members of PM vowed to continue seeking justice for Ka Popoy while pursuing what they believe is his legacy as a working-class hero—the struggle for the emancipation of the working class.
06 February 2024
