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PNP nabs LEU union officer

MANKAYAN, Benguet (Oct. 4) — The aftershocks of the strike continue to haunt one of the 19 union officers who were terminated by the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (Lepanto) when elements of the Mankayan Philippine National Police (PNP) arrested Vicente Dilem, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Lepanto Employees Union-National Federation of Labor Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno (LEU-NAFLU-KMU) near his residence at Pallatong, Mankayan at 6:30 P.M. on October 3.

The PNP earlier served a warrant of arrest for Dilem on September 12, barely two days after his fellow officers and members of the union held a closing ceremony to end the three-month long strike against the management of the Lepanto. Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch Judge Agapito Laoagan issued the arrest warrant.

Dilem was charged of robbery with violence and intimidation for allegedly stealing the cell phone of a certain SP01 Guillermo Muñoz. Muñoz claimed Dilem stole his cell phone in a scuffle on July 23 after the PNP tried to prevent the workers from entering the company’s gate 3. the workers held a march-rally to ask for a dialogue with the management at that time.

“Kas-ano a matakaw ko ti cell phone diay pulis ket pangpang-oran dakami ken nakapaltog pay dagiti dadduma isunga a depdepensaan mi ti bagi mi,” (How could I get the cell phone of that policeman when they were hitting us with their truncheons and some of them even have guns that we were only shielding ourselves), Dilem said as he claims he is innocent.

Prior to the said arrest, Dilem was among those who were criminally charged by the Lepanto Management when they were picketing at the gates of the mine site. They demanded wage increases and appraisals on their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Dilem and his co-workers were prompted to stage a strike after the management refused to give in to their demands and the supposed non-submission of their SSS contributions and loan payments by LCMC. Union leaders and the LCMC Management representatives both signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), ensuring to settle the labor dispute. Moreover, there should be no retaliatory actions from either side. This ended the strike on September 10 at the Union Hall.

Meanwhile, KMU-Cordillera spokesperson James Tulipa criticized the case against Dilem saying it is merely a form of harassment against the workers’ ranks as the local elections for the new batch of union officers is fast approaching. He lambasted the PNP for trying to muddle the union affairs again making trumped up cases in suppressing the officers and members.

LEU-NAFLU-KMU president Ninian K. Lang-agan said that the unionists are confident that justice would be served. Lang-agan however assailed the improper procedures of the PNP for transferring Dilem to the Abatan Police Station in Buguias, Benguet and bringing him back at Mankayan for no apparent legal reasons.

The Court requires a bail of P150,000 for Dilem’s temporary liberty. # Aldwin Quitasol-KMU-Cordillera

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