HK group scores soldiers' threats vs Hacienda Luisita union leaders

MANILA, Philippines - A Hong Kong-based rights group questioned Monday alleged threats to union leaders in a hacienda owned by the family of former President Corazon Aquino in Tarlac province. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said the local military "deliberately" warned them one after another that they would suffer consequences if they not stop union activities. It said the threats involved union leaders and workers of the International Wiring System (IWS), a firm located inside the Special Export Processing Zone in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac City. AHRC said the alleged harassment started in June 2008, and involved soldiers from the Army's 71st Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Northern Luzon Command, (NOLCOM); and the 7th Infantry Division (ID). "Of over 25 complaints that have been received from the workers, only four complainants, namely Dexter Datu, union president; Ramon Lopez, union executive vice-president; Bong Tiamzon, union officer; and Nino Caling, union board member, have decided to come out in the open to expose the plight in which they find themselves," the AHRC said. Datu said that on June 7, four men riding two blue motorcycles went to his house in Maligaya village in Tarlac City. "Stop your activities if you love your family and if you still want to spend more time with them," Datu recalled the soldiers telling him. He said the men added that they would not stop pursuing them. Also, the soldiers also accused Datu of "supporting the communists." One of them even yelled: "This is Dexter Datu, who is using union funds to support the communists." Datu described the one who yelled as about 50 years old, and that one of the man's fingers was "crooked" or "curved." In the middle of their discussion, another soldier had offered Datu a mobile phone SIM card and instructed him to use it if he wished to call them, but he declined. The soldiers also claimed that they were holding some documents, the contents of which they did not elaborate. They added they were looking at him for a very long time. Datu also said that days before the soldiers went to his house, he noticed a black motorcycle without a plate number frequently driving back and forth in front of his house. Lopez, the union executive vice president, had also experienced a similar incident. His wife said that last June 2, two men arrived and knocked at her door in San Vicente Zone 1, Tarlac city. They claimed to be representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE). One introduced himself as Alex Aguilar. As the two claimed that they were Lopez's friends, his wife allowed them inside the house, but noticed that they were carrying firearms. She said they asked her several questions about her husband, and claimed the funding of her husband's union was being used to support the communists. When she asked for their identification, they were not able to produce any. Just before they left the house, one of them said: "If I were your husband, I would just concentrate on my job. You have many children… please tell your husband that we will come back." At 6 a.m. of June 7, four soldiers stationed themselves in front of Lopez's house. When Lopez's wife asked who they were, they replied, "If he (Ramon) still loves his family, he must stop his activities… they are using union funds for the CPP-NPA." On June 19, Caling, the union's board member, said two soldiers, who introduced themselves as Mendoza and Peralta went to his house. At the time he was asked to accompany them to the house of the village chairman. Once at the chairman's house, he met a certain Satur, who claimed he was attached to the intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). Two soldiers introduced themselves as Ambulencia and Mendoza. Ambulencia claimed that that the union had two treasurers, one works in the company and the other within the Communist Party of the Philippines New People's Army (CPP-NPA). In another incident, the soldiers went to the house of another union officer, Santos Asilo. Asilo said that on July 9, three soldiers went to his house, also in Tarlac city. He recalled that one of the soldiers introduced himself as James Palimlim. At the start of their discussion, the soldiers spoke to him about workers' issues including the union's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was up for negotiation. But the soldiers shifted the topic to "anti-insurgency" and told Asilo that their union was penetrated by "leftist groups" and that "the union should not ask for additional wages in (their) CBA" as it might result in the closure of their company. Another union officer, Bong Tiamzon, also said that on August 2 at 3 a.m., two men, who introduced themselves as Chris Cabrera and Santy, went to his house in Barangay San Manuel, of Tarlac city. He recalls that Chris' finger was "crooked" or "curved," a description similar to the person who met Datu on June 7. Like his colleagues, whom the soldiers had visited, they too had discussed various labor issues. They also claimed that "they have helped a lot of workers with their problems with SSS and taxes," AHRC said. Tiamzon was also asked "about the activities (that the union) conducted every May 1 (Labor Day), the union funds and the P70,000 (USD 1,478) that (they) had earned from selling scrap." He recalled that while they were talking, the soldiers took a video recording of him using his mobile phone. When he asked why they were taking a video recording of him, he was told that they were obliged to because their "union is already penetrated by leftist groups." "Apart from being threatened and visited at their respective homes, the soldiers also frequently held public forums in different village halls. On these occasions they were carrying firearms and were wearing plain clothes. Although the topics in these forums were about labor issues, the soldiers took advantage of the situation. They criticized the IWS union's supposed 'failure' to address workers' concerns, openly accusing it of having links with the CPP-NPA," AHRC said. It added they held film showings and power point presentations, which both demonized unionists and activists. One was entitled: Knowing the Enemy. The workers were threatened that they would suffer consequences if they failed to attend any of the forums that were being held. "It is not the role of the soldiers to hold forums, in particular about the issues on labor. This is the domain of the labor department. In this case, the soldiers effectively undermined the union's activity and exposed them to unnecessary danger on the pretext that they were supporting the communists. Family security has also been severely compromised," AHRC said. The union leaders, workers and their respective families have been experiencing debilitating fear because of the soldiers continuing threats, it added. The unionists are particularly concerned that something bad would happen to workers and families respectively, if they refused to refrain from their union activities. - GMANews.TV