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Issue Number 27/28, April 2007
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Kapatiran Issue
No. 27/28, April 2007
SOLIDARITY
IN THE PHILIPPINES
The Spark,
22/6/06
Mark Muller from the Workers Party visited the
Philippines in May 2006 to attend the big annual May Day
celebrations organised by the militant trade union
confederation the KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno, or May First
Movement). He was also part of a fact-finding mission
looking into State repression. The Spark is the
Workers’ Party paper.
How was May Day in the Philippines?
It was amazing. In the capital, Manila, there were tens
of thousands of people at the May Day march. Many had
come from miles, some on foot. There were also lots of
rallies around the city. People there see May Day as a
day to march, protest, be heard.
What were the issues people were bringing
forward?
Number one: they want an end to the repression. They want
the President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ousted, as they
see her as a willing partner in the state terror tactics.
Since she was elected in 2001 there have been over 600
activists killed (as of early 2007, the total had climbed
to closer to 900. Ed.). There have been 200 killed in
just the last year. There is also a campaign for a
general wage rise, as wages are very, very low.
Are trade unionists targeted by the state?
Yes, it’s dangerous work. There are trade unionists
being killed by the State, by armed goons. Often they are
assassinated in drive-by shootings. Other activists are
also targeted - whether it be human rights workers,
women’s groups, teachers: anyone speaking out for
the working people is at risk.
How do people cope or respond to that sort of
State terror?
They organise to defend themselves. There is an
underground revolutionary movement which has over 100
guerrilla zones. In those regions the Government forces
are weak and the revolutionaries have virtually liberated
the zones. There is a revolutionary army called the New
People’s Army. It is made up of workers and
peasants. When I was in the Philippines I heard nothing
bad about them only good comments, and so did everyone on
the fact-finding mission. They came back from visiting
different regions and all the feedback that they got
about the NPA was that they were the true liberators.
There is also the KMU – the Kilusang Mayo Uno –
the May First Movement. This is a militant, left-wing
trade union federation. There are progressive legal
parties – Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and
Gabriela—and these are part of the democratic
movement against the regime.
Do they have members in Congress?
They have six elected to Congress and there was an
attempt to arrest all six of them for
“rebellion” during the 2006 State of Emergency
called by Arroyo. Five escaped to the sanctuary of the
Congress Building, protected by the Speaker. As I was
leaving the Philippines those five came out but were
threatened to be arrested and charged again with
rebellion. The other guy detained is Crispin Beltran,
known as Ka Bel. He was a leader of the KMU, and is a
member of Congress for Anakpawis party. He is still under
armed guard; he’s 74 years old, and was initially
denied medical treatment. After a period of time he was
given access to treatment but still remains under arrest.
He is detained on trumped-up charges. He had limited
access to visitors, but now friends and legal advisers
can visit him. All the foreign delegates that were part
of the fact-finding tour got to visit him. He seemed in
good spirits and very defiant.
Helen Clark visited the Philippines just after the State
of Emergency had been lifted. She had been asked by
Philippines solidarity networks to raise the question of
repression with Arroyo. However, appealing to the
capitalist politicians has been futile.
What do you think the best approach would be?
Build solidarity with the KMU. Learn from their situation
and exchange ideas. It’s better than appealing to
capitalist governments and their cronies.
Where did you go to do the fact finding tour,
and how many foreign delegates were there?
I was part of a delegation of around 20 people from 13
different countries. We were there to investigate the
killings and abductions of workers and peasants and state
repression. We split into four groups and went to
different areas. I went to Negros Island in the southern
part of the Philippines. People from Belgium, Denmark,
Philippines, and Canada were part of the group I was in.
The main production in Negros is sugar cane. The workers
are badly exploited and are trying to organise in unions
and so on.
A typical situation is where a worker walks home and he
is ambushed by gunmen camouflaged in the sugar canes.
Once they see their target the worker gets shot. They go
up and put a final bullet to the head to make sure the
worker is killed. The Army plays its part by turning a
blind eye to paramilitaries carrying out the abuse. The
Army has direct links to the paramilitaries. These
paramilitaries carry out extortion of local villagers and
are quite often the people responsible for the
assassinations and killing of workers.
Why are they killing workers?
Because they are organising for better conditions. They
can’t live off their wages which are below
subsistence level. They know that their strength is in
joining a union and increasing their numbers. The Army
and the gunmen are complicit. This goes on unchecked and
it is a policy of the Government to subdue any
resistance, no matter what.
A group that went to Mindanao in the southern part of the
Philippines visited Nestle workers who have been on
strike since 2003. These workers are on strike because
their employer refused to negotiate a contract. They have
a picket line manned by strikers but it faces armed
attack from snipers and from guards that the employers
hire. The employers are trying to force the workers back
to work even if it means shooting them. Several strikers
have been shot, injured, killed. Some have
"disappeared", thought to be murdered by the
state.
What can we do in New Zealand to assist?
It’s important to build our own movement here and as
part of that highlight the oppression in the Philippines.
As I said earlier build solidarity with the KMU and other
progressive groupings.
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