Southern Tagalog militant labor center Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno (Pamantik-KMU) condemned state forces for the arrest of two of its organizers yesterday, October 27, in Makati City. The two were identified as Gavino Panganiban, campaign officer of Pamantik-KMU, and Maritess David from the federation OLALIA-KMU.

Police said Panganiban is facing murder and attempted murder charges in a court in Infanta and Gumaca, Quezon, while David has a case filed against her for violating the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition in a court in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

“We stand that the charges against Panganiban and David are utterly baseless and were only done in attempts to suppress the workers’ dissent over stagnant wages in the face of high prices,” Pamantik-KMU acting chairperson Antonio Fajardo said.

The labor center explained that charges against David stemmed over a police raid on the former office of the Alyansa ng Manggagawa sa Engklabo in Barangay Market Area, Santa Rosa City on March 30, 2021, weeks after the Duterte regime’s simultaneous killings and arrests of activists in Southern Tagalog known as the Bloody Sunday.

The two organizers were monitoring workers’ situation and coordinating relief and medical operations in Southern Tagalog when state forces arrested them. Southern Tagalog was one of the regions most severely affected by Typhoon Kristine last week.

“The Luzon region has not yet recovered from the severe typhoon, workers are struggling, instead Marcos Jr, the AFP, and PNP are preoccupied with the suppression and arrest of those serving and helping workers,” Fajardo emphasized.

Panganiban is a unionist from the Plastic Group and Fine Chemicals in the 1980s, while David is a former teacher who became a paralegal and labor organizer.

MayDay Multimedia reported that police personnel remained in Pililla Street in Makati City where the two organizers were arrested. They are reportedly waiting for a search warrant to search the area, which workers fear that will be used to plant evidence or claim that they found firearms.

Pamantik-KMU demanded that Panganiban and David be given access to a lawyer of their choice and proper medical attention. Panganiban has eye problems, while both have hypertension.

Pamantik-KMU added that the harassment and arrest of the two only confirms the findings of the International Trade Union Confederation Global Rights Index that for eight consecutive years, from 2017, the Philippines has been one of the 10 worst countries for workers.