Workers strongly condemned the arrest of Cordillera’s most prominent labor organizer they said is part of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ongoing persecution of activists.
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said its Cordillera chapter spokesperson and National Council member Mike Cabangon’s arrest on a trumped up terrorism financing charge is proof of Marcos’ contempt of workers.
“This is the grim face of the Marcos government’s ‘counter-insurgency’ program. Within the framework of the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD), the twin monsters of the Anti-Terror Law and (Anti-Terror Financing Law) are being used together not to resolve the roots of the armed conflict but to sow violence against the people and those defending their interests,” KMU said.
The labor federation said Cabangon’s arrest is part of the escalating human rights violations in the Cordillera and throughout the Philippines under the Marcos regime.
Instead of jailing corrupt officials by Christmas as Marcos Jr. promised in November, the regime worsens injustice by jailing those who oppose systemic thievery in government, KMU added.
“There is no sacred time for the fascist and oppressive Marcos government. Instead of addressing the just demands for wages, jobs, and rights advanced by those like Comrade Mike, the regime’s offering this Christmas is arrest and oppression,” it said.
The BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN) Philippines said that Cabangon’s arrest shows anti-terrorism laws are being used to suppress advocacy and labor organizing work.
BIEN said Cabangon is a prominent campaigner for jeepney drivers, union members and workers seeking fair pay and social protection.
“He is also recognized as a cultural worker who uses music and art to raise awareness on workers’ struggles and people’s welfare,” the group said.
“It is clear where state priorities remain: punishing those who speak for the people instead of those who steal from them,” BIEN Philippines added.
The Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) denounced the unusually swift execution of the arrest warrant dated December 26, signed by Presiding Judge Maria Corazon Mata Labrador of Branch 18, Batac, Ilocos Norte.
Cabangon received complaints for two counts of violation of Section of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (TFPSA) last February 15.
One of the complaints had been dismissed but the other filed by the Philippine National Police had been elevated to court.
CHRA revealed that among the witnesses presented by the police were military intelligence agents.
“We strongly condemn the filing of fabricated charges against Mike Cabangon, the cruel timing of this arrest during the holiday season, when families should be together, and the relentless attacks against human rights defenders, where warrants and charges are hastily pursued – while those who trample on the rights of the Filipino people continue to enjoy leniency from the Courts and the State,” CHRA said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
