Workers from across the country have come out in support of the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) High Level Tripartite Mission, hoping that the investigation will strengthen the country’s right to organize and lead to justice for the countless cases of harassment, union-busting, and killings of Filipino workers under the Duterte and Marcos regimes.
Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno highlighted the importance of the investigation under the current Marcos regime, saying that amid the current crisis, Marcos has done nothing to address workers’ calls while answering them only with intimidation and countless attacks.
“Napakainam na aktibidad ng HLTM para ilantad ang busabos at delikadong kalagayan ng mga manggagawa sa kasalukuyan. Magandang pagkakataon din ito upang ipakita ang ating mahigpit na pagkakaisa para isulong ang ating makatwirang panawagan para sa umento sa sahod, regular at disenteng trabaho, at pagkilala at pangagalaga sa mga batayang karapatan at paggawa,” said KMU.
The ILO , as an agency established by the United Nations to set labor standards and policy, will spend several days – from January 23 to January 27 – to assess whether the Philippine government has fulfilled its obligations under ILO Convention 87, or the Right to Organize and Freedom of Association.
In 2019, the International Labor Conference called for an investigation into the country, citing “numerous allegations of murders of trade unionists and anti-union violence as well as the allegations regarding the lack of investigation in relation to these allegations.”
Since 1953, the Philippines has been a signatory to the ILO’s Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, but it still lags behind most countries in implementing the convention’s labor standards.
A bloody track record for labor under Duterte and Marcos
The mission’s primary agenda is to discuss the bloody track record for labor under the Duterte and Marcos administrations: 56 killings of workers and unionists, 68 illegal arrests and detention, 90 cases of forced disaffiliation from trade organizations, 58 cases of red-tagging, 127 cases of intimidation and harassment, and 6 cases of forced disappearances and kidnapping.
KMU said that most of these were done directly by state forces.
“Isang bagay ang malinaw sa amin – ang mga pwersa ng estado na dapat sana’y nagpoprotekta sa amin ang siya pang pangunahing lumalabag sa aming karapatan sa freedom of association (FoA),” they said in a statement.
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) demanded justice for these attacks, saying that of the 56 extrajudicial killings, not a single perpetrator has been put in jail.
“Workers and unionists continue to fear for their lives as they suffer various forms of attacks, just because they are exercising their right to organize and are fighting for their welfare,” they said.
One victim of these attacks was Manuel Asuncion, a labor leader who was one of the nine human rights defenders murdered during the Bloody Sunday raids in the Southern Tagalog region on March 7, 2021.
Last January 17, the court dismissed cases filed against 17 police officers for Asuncion’s murder because of “insufficient evidence” despite countless witnesses supporting their claims.
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“Ka Manny’s case is a clear manifestation of how poor the justice system is in the PH, as perpetrators run free and rights defenders continue to be attacked. We hope that the ILO-HLTM can be instrumental in our quest for justice for Ka Manny and many other victims of extrajudicial killings,” said the CTUHR.
The labor groups believe that abolishing the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is essential to ending the attacks and protecting the right to organize.
“Mahigpit naming panawagan na ibasura na ang EO 70 na lumikha sa mapanupil at mamamatay-taong NTF-ELCAC… Nilikha ang ahensyang ito para lamang mamaratang, manakot, at magbanta sa aming mga buhay. Kaya sa tingin namin, imposibleng maitaguyod at maproteksyunan ang aming batayang karapatan sa freedom of association kung mananatiling nakatayo itong NTF-ELCAC,” said KMU secretary general Jerome Adonis.
They also demanded junking of the trumped-up charges against labor organizers, as well as the immediate surfacing of missing labor activists.
“Hindi kami titigil sa pag-iingay at paglaban hanggang hindi nananagot ang mga maysala! Bakit napakabilis ng hustisya para sa mga makapangyarihan tulad ng anak ni DOJ Secretary Remulla? Samantala, taon, dekada, at minsan nga’y wala pa talaga, ang inuusad ng mga kaso ng paglabag sa karapatan naming mga manggagawa. Ang mga pwersa ng estado, maging sina Duterte at Marcos Jr. na lumikha at nagpapatuloy nitong nakamamatay na EO 70 – lahat sila’y may dugo sa kanilang mga kamay. Nararapat lamang na sila’y managot!” said Adonis.
A Cause for Hope
Although they recognize that there is a long road ahead in defending the right to organize, labor unions and other progressive groups remain optimistic that the ILO’s investigation will lead to real strides in support of the freedom of association.
In a statement, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said that the HLTM must expose the gross violations against labor rights and pressure Marcos to act on their findings.
“To the Marcos regime: the whole world is watching the Philippines and no amount of frequent-flyer miles abroad can cover up the bloodied human rights record of the Philippine government,” they said.
Labor activist and Sociology student Kara Taggaoa, herself a victim of the state’s trumped-up charges designed to stifle labor activism, hopes that the investigation’s findings will be used to form urgent and meaningful policy changes.
“We cannot go another day facing the same precarious conditions. It is our hope that Filipino workers can organize and form unions, that they can struggle for just wages and decent work, that they can dream and struggle for a better future without fear and dread,” she said.
Featured image courtesy of Kilusang Mayo Uno
