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Lepanto workers demand PNP pullout

MANKAYAN, Benguet (July 26) — The Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) this week demanded the pullout of the Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed here following the Assumption of Jurisdiction (AJ) order issued by Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas on May 10. This the workers stressed on July 23 in a 4,000-strong indignation rally. The workers are on their 2nd month of strike.

LEU President Ninian Lang-agan said the PNP’s presence triggered human rights violations among workers, including their families and community supporters. Lang-agan earlier announced the union’s affiliation with the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), which management accuses of misleading the workers. In jest, Lang-agan told Lepanto’s Atty. Weldy Manlong that they would only cease from having the KMU assist them if Lepanto tells the PNP to leave.

LEU reported earlier that the PNP had been escorting the entry of supplies and scabs into the picketed gates. In a press conference on July 27, Timpuyog dagiti Babbai iti Minas a Lepanto’s (TBML) Junita Farrong claimed that the PNP is responsible for the violence at the picketlines. The PNP dispersed workers at the Tubo and Mill Site picketlines on June 17, 18, 20, and 21, mostly at dawn. Twenty-one workers were illegally arrested and detained on two occasions this month. Human rights lawyers and organizations facilitated the release of the said workers.

Nearby Mankayan communities, peasants from Mt. Province and Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, and representatives of multisectoral organizations from other provinces and Baguio City joined the mobilization. Major mobilizations were also carried out on May 31 and June 23. The workers families have kept a steady stance since the strike, withstanding dispersals and other forms of intimidation since June 2.

Breaking loose

The indignation rally, however, did not turn out peaceful as intended when the PNP did not allow the workers and their supporters to enter Gate 3, and earlier, symbolically close the Tubo gate which was earlier picketed. The PNP opened fire at Gate 3 after a 2-hour negotiation.

LEU Auditor and Spokesperson Ronald Maslian explained that what happened at the Tubo gate only intended to reaffirm the essence of the strike, where workers closed the gate. “We exhausted the negotiations before the workers moved to close the gate, and we had no intention of hurting anyone. The workers were pushing each other when a policeman fell and hit his head on his shield”, he said.

“We would like to set the record straight on this. We, nor our supporters, started the scuffle at Gate 3. It was the PNP who hurled stones at us. And then they opened fire when the last batch of rallyists entered the gate”, added LEU Board of Directors member Vicente Dilem.

“We tried to negotiate with Maj. Madiaco whose men were manning the gate. We asked him to allow us to symbolically close the gate and we would be on our way, but he failed to give us an answer even after we agreed to let him speak to Col. Gaab first”, clarified Atty. Mary Ann Bayang of the Dinteg Indigenous Law Center.

Farrong added that Lepanto’s Atty. Weldy Manlong refused to allow the workers to enter in spite of the efforts to negotiate. She also recalls that Gaab fired his service pistol to the air as the workers entered. “Numanpay kasdiay, kalmado kami a binmaba mapan idiay union hall ngem adda dagiti pulis a nagrugi nga agbarsak ti bato kadakami, nakita mi pay a pati ni Atty. Manlong ket nakinayon”, she said (We still calmly proceeded to the union hall when the policemen started hurling stones towards us, we even saw Atty. Manlong hurl stones). Manlong denied the allegations. Engineer Ernesto Laoagan on the other hand reiterated management’s stand on the dismissal of the union officers and members.

Meanwhile, Mayor Manalo Galuten, the Sangguniang Bayan members and some of the Punong Barangays here created an ad hoc committee to help resolve the ongoing labor dispute. The said committee will be composed of the members of the municipality’s local government units and representatives from different organizations and people in the business sector and churches.

Galuten met with Company President Edilberto Yap last week in Makati, where Yap reportedly said that the company gave financial assistance to the municipality, that the LGU should do the company a favor in return.

Lang-agan expressed hope that the ad hoc committee will find solutions to help resolve the labor dispute. “Sapay koma ta adda ti pagbanagan na ti panakabukel daytoy a grupo ken agbalin koma nga patas ti ikasta na nga agbirok ti anyaman a solusyon”, he said. (We hope that the formation of this group will be fruitful, and that it should be fair in recommending any solution).

“Not us”

Meanwhile, Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Secretary General Windel Bolinget belied management allegations that the CPA, including other supporters, instigated the violence Gate 3. In a statement, the CPA said that the PNP was poised to shoot at the workers and their supporters. Bolinget, however, said not all the PNP were armed and participated in the scuffle. “We recognize the PNP under Capt. Richard Albon’s team who only carried shields and made way when the workers opened the gate. We reached reports that those PNP men under Col. Ernesto Gaab and Maj. Madiaco were the ones armed”, he said. In the statement, the CPA called on the PNP to serve their Igorot brothers and not allow the dictates of Lepanto over their mandate to serve and protect the people.

National Federation of Labor Unions (NAFLU) Vice Chairperson Lito Ustares, who was with the workers during the July 23 incident, feared that the incident would lead to Hacienda Luisita incident where 7 workers died when the PNP opened fire.

Carrying on

Despite the near-death experience on July 23, Dilem affirmed that the workers, more than ever, are determined to carry on with the strike.

The miners’ families also affirmed this when TBML members Elena Dom-ayan and Rose Dosayen said they are prepared, should the 8-week strike prolong. Dosayen said that they have survived dispersals and harassment that there is no room for backing out now.

At the Union Hall on July 23, Lang-agan called on his fellow workers to strengthen their resolve as the dispute seems far from over.

“Sapay koma ta diay tibker tayo ittatay ket kasdiay ti kinatibker tayo inggana balligi”, he said, referring to the scuffle at Gate 3 (I hope that the determination and unity we displayed earlier the Gate 3 would not wane until we claim our demands). The workers’ demands, aside from wages and benefits, now include the reinstatement of union officers and several members who were dismissed.

Other issues

Management has resorted to evicting the workers from their bunkhouses to pressure them to give in, KMU-Cordillera Spokesperson James Tulipa said. On July 18, LEU member Raymuno Papat found his quarters padlocked at around 3 p.m. at Brgy. Paco. A fact sheet prepared by the KMU states that Manlong, accompanied by two unidentified members of the company security force, and three unidentified members of the PNP, padlocked Papat’s house. A wooden plank was nailed across his window. Five days earlier, Papat said that Lepanto issued an eviction order for to him to vacate his quarters since he was terminated for participating in the strike.

Maslian divulged that Lepanto had not been remitting the workers’ Social Security System (SSS) payments since November 2004. The backpayments amount to some P21 million. “The union has already to moved to charge the company for estafa”, Maslian said. The union tried to apply for a loan at the SSS last week but this was not approved by Lepanto’s Financial Manager Nelson Varilla because of the ongoing dispute.

Meanwhile, several schools in Baguio and Benguet have allowed the miners’ children to take the midterm exams under a promissory note to pay later, given the strike in Lepanto. The schools include Pines City Educational Center (PCEC), Easter School Inc. (ECI), and Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC). Recently, BSU Pres. Rogelio Colting approved the request of Benguet Board Member Atty. Juan Nazaro, Jr., who heads the Committee on Education and Legal Matters and Rules, to allow students in this university to take the midterm exams. # AT Bengwayan for NORDIS, with reports from Aldwin Quitasol

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