To prevent mix-ups among combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, criminal syndicates and kidnap-for-ransom groups, an area is identified for MILF fighters to stay in while military or police operations are being conducted in MILF-influenced communities. This “area of temporary stay” (ATS) is not “perpetual” and is designated for a given period and for a certain purpose, usually to allow for the pursuit of lawless elements seeking refuge in MILF-influenced communities, Col. Dickson Hermoso, head of the military’s Peace Process Office, told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Wednesday. “An ATS is designed for a purpose. It is located on the map. It is established by the CCCH (Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities) when there are police operations,” Hermoso said. The ATS is “dissolved” after an operation and the MILF members go back to their communities, he said. When asked about the current number and location of such areas in Mindanao, Hermoso said: “Negative.” But MILF-influenced communities are currently located in the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Zamboanga Sibugay and Basilan. Past ATS Hermoso said the last ATS was in Al-Barka, Basilan, and was set up in the aftermath of the 2007 killing of 14 Marines—10 of them beheaded—in the province. MILF forces stayed in this ATS while government troops hunted down the attackers, who included Abu Sayyaf bandits. The clash on Oct. 18, which claimed the lives of 19 soldiers, occurred 4 kilometers away from this former ATS in Al-Barka, Hermoso said. He said an ATS was also established in 2005 to give government troops a free hand in their pursuit of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. “[Janjalani] was allegedly in the proximity of an MILF-influenced area. So an ATS was established in Guindulungan, Maguindanao, near a swampland,” Hermoso said. MILF fighters abandoned Camp Bader in Guindulungan and proceeded to the ATS, with the movement witnessed by government soldiers to dispel suspicion that Abu Sayyaf bandits in disguise had joined the group. Hermoso said that in 2004, nine ATS were established in the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Davao Oriental in line with the visit of a Malaysian team monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the government and the MILF in June 2001. 4-point peace plan The establishment of ATS for MILF rebels was part of a 4-point peace plan proposed by the government to the group in 2003. This was to avoid “misencounters” while peace negotiations were ongoing. Other “talking points” included in that proposal were: the setting up of an acceptable monitoring team to monitor ceasefire mechanisms on the ground; the enforcement of a joint communique dated May 6, 2002, where the MILF agreed to interdict criminals taking refuge in its controlled areas; and the pinpointing of responsibility for the bombings in urban areas and destruction of power transmission towers in Mindanao. In 2003, then Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was quoted as saying in an Inquirer report that he expected the item on the ATS to be the most contentious. No longer ‘camps’ On July 18, 1997, the government and the MILF forged an agreement in Cagayan de Oro City to cease hostilities and to continue formal peace talks. The implementing rules were signed four months later, on Nov. 14, 1997, paving the way for the acknowledgment of 7 of the 46 MILF camps—Abubakar in Barira, Maguindanao; Bushra in Butig, Lanao del Sur; Rajamuda in Buliok, Pagalungan, Maguindanao; Omar and Bader in Guindulungan, Maguindanao; Darapanan in Maguindanao; and Bilal in Munai, Lanao del Norte. “But now, we refrain from using the words ‘camps,’ ‘territories,’ ‘stronghold.’ They are called ‘communities’ or ‘areas influenced’ by them,” Hermoso said. After the fall of Abubakar in 2000 when then President Joseph Estrada waged an all-out war against the MILF, the group’s members dispersed all over the conflict areas. But lawless elements also sought refuge in these areas, Hermoso said. Joint action group Under the 2002 joint communique, an ad hoc joint action group against criminal elements hiding in MILF-influenced communities was formed. This group works with the CCCH in monitoring the conflict areas. “If government soldiers or MILF combatants move from one barangay to another with arms, there should be coordination,” Hermoso said. “If there’s a report of violations, the CCCH will send a quick-response team. If there’s an active shooting war, it will serve as a mediator,” he said. Article I of the Implementing Rules and Operational Guidelines and Ground Rules of the 1997 Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities lists the prohibited acts. These include terrorism acts such as kidnapping, hijacking, piracy, sabotage, arson, bombings, grenade throwing, robbery liquidation/assassination, unjustified arrest, torture, unreasonable search and seizure, summary execution, burning of houses, places of worship and educational institutions, destruction of properties, and abuse of civilians. Aggressive acts such as attacks, raid, ambuscades, land mines, offensive military actions such as shelling, reconnoitering and unjustified massing of troops, are also banned. The establishment of checkpoints, except those necessary for the government’s enforcement and maintenance of peace and order and for the defense and security of the MILF in its identified areas, is also considered a violation. Sources: Phone interview with Col. Dickson Hermoso; Inquirer Archives; www.opapp.gov.ph Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines.
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By DJ Yap, Ryan Rosauro Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer 2:11 am | Saturday, October 29th, 2011 For the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the real issue in the Oct. 18 encounter in Al-Barka, Basilan province, was “coordination,” or more to the point, “uncoordinated movement of troops”—and the so-called “area of temporary stay” (ATS) was only incidental. “The ceasefire agreement provides that such a movement of troops, granting that the MILF was not the target, should be coordinated first through the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) or the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (Ahjag),” said Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the rebel group’s peace negotiating panel. The Ahjag was set up in 2002 as an avenue for joint efforts by the MILF and government in the “isolation and interdiction of all criminal syndicates, kidnap-for-ransom groups and other criminal groups, including the so-called ‘lost commands’ operating in Mindanao.” Iqbal said the delineation of an ATS was not reflected in the agreements of the government and MILF peace panels. What were delineated or “acknowledged” were seven MILF camps although after the 2000 all-out war, the rebel group “abandoned fixed camping.” ‘Deliberate attack’ A report of the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, of the Oct. 18 incident said an ATS was designated for the rebel group in May-July 2008. During this time, MILF forces and their families temporarily relocated to Barangay Ginanta to give way to a military operation against the Abu Sayyaf bandit group in Al-Barka, Tipo-Tipo and Ungkaya Pukan towns, the report said. The MILF forces from outside Ginanta returned to their communities of origin after the military operations. But even assuming that the ATS in Ginanta was still effective, Iqbal said, the deployment of the Army’s Special Forces troops was “5 kilometers away from the highway.” According to Iqbal, the Ginanta ATS is nearer the highway and “Cambug is deeper inside.” This is why the MILF considers the Oct. 18 encounter in Al-Barka as “the offshoot of a deliberate attack by government troops.” “Are [MILF commander Dan] Asnawi and his forces/relatives traitors for shooting the Army’s Special Forces who attacked them?” Iqbal said. Review of ceasefire pact The government peace panel is revisiting provisos in the ceasefire agreement on the grant of ATS to the rebels, the military said. In a briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Col. Dickson Hermoso, chief of the Armed Forces’ Peace Process Office, said the review was prompted by the Oct. 18 encounter with MILF renegades that left 19 Army soldiers dead. The renegades then retreated to an “ATS” some 4 kilometers from the site of the clash. Since that encounter, other skirmishes followed in Zamboanga Sibugay province involving “lawless elements,” prompting the military and the police to launch air, sea and ground assaults on the renegades in Payao town. “Yes, the panel chair and the other side are reviewing the guidelines in the previous agreement on this. If ever there is a need to amend it, the members of the peace panel will … discuss [it],” he said. Hermoso said the situation on the ground had greatly changed from “5 or 10 years ago” because of other lawless elements whose presence complicated the peace process, including kidnap-for-ransom groups, bandits, extortionists, terrorists, etc. “There is a need to review and amend the ceasefire agreement so we can go back to the question of sincerity” on the part of the MILF in pursuing peace, he said. In particular, Hermoso cited certain provisions in the implementing guidelines to the General Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities between the government and the MILF. “There are stipulations on hostile acts and the coddling and harboring of criminal elements” that we need to review, he told reporters. Basilan ATS dissolved Asked if the military intended to make any proposals on how to grant ATS to the MILF, Hermoso said it was entirely up to the negotiators. “We just follow policy,” he said, adding that there was no time frame for the completion of the review. In an earlier phone interview, Hermoso said the military did not officially recognize any ATS at present, although it continued to honor the ceasefire agreement in places claimed by the MILF, including in Al-Barka. He said the purported ATS in Basilan should have been considered dissolved following the termination of police operations in the area in 2007. Hermoso said the only reason the military was steering clear of the Basilan ATS was to honor the mechanisms contained in the existing ceasefire agreement with the MILF. “It’s very hard to distinguish lawless elements from legitimate MILF members. If we hit unintended targets, then we would have a problem on our hands,” he said. Hermoso said the MILF was only taking advantage of technicalities in claiming that the ATS remained in effect. To improve/strengthen Teresita Deles, President Aquino’s adviser on the peace process, also said the government was reviewing its ceasefire agreement with the MILF. But she said that the agreement was being revisited only “to see if we can improve/strengthen [it] and how.” “It’s the appropriate disposition in the negotiations to always be ready to review and reflect how the situation can be improved toward a durable peace,” Deles said in a text message to the Inquirer. Pressed on whether the review could lead to a suspension of the agreement, she said: “Not likely.” On which provisions were under review, she said: “Sorry, we’re not there yet.” She said the CCCH and Ahjag members were “still engaged on the ground, so we can’t call them to any meetings yet.” “It’s not a literature review that we’re after but taking lessons from the ground,” she added. Different from MOA-AD In a statement, Deles sought to allay fears raised by Sen. Francis Escudero that the agreement between the government and the MILF for ATS could lead to a new version of the aborted Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD). “…ATS is a military term. From the point of view of the ceasefire mechanism, it is an area to temporarily hold MILF forces so that government forces may be able to accomplish their mission,” Deles said. “It is of a different concept from the areas mentioned in the MOA-AD, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The ATS therefore is an operational term, which qualifies that the areas held by the MILF, is only temporary,” she said. Deles also said she was no longer the peace adviser when the MOA-AD was forged with the MILF during the Arroyo administration. With a report from Norman Bordadora Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. By Frances Mangosing, Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net 7:02 pm | Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines rejected the call of the global human rights group, Amnesty International (AI), not to use government militias or the Special Cafgu Active Auxiliaries (SCAAs) to augment private security forces in mining companies. Cafgu stands for Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit. Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, AFP public affairs chief, told reporters on Tuesday that President Benigno Aquino III’s approval of a military proposal to use SCAA in securing mining sites following the attack of three mineral extraction firms in Claver town, Surigao del Norte by members of the New People’s Army recently. The move “would enhance security in the area and would prevent a similar incident to happen.” He said it will not lead to human rights violations as claimed by the AI, which issued a statement saying the military “cannot ensure proper discipline and accountability for the militias and paramilitary groups, creating an environment conducive to human rights violations.” Burgos emphasized human rights protection is part of the government militiaman training. He added the deployment of government militias is the result of consultations and dialogues between mining firms and the military. “We have more than 40 SCAA companies…. These will enhance security in the area,” Burgos said, adding that locals are recruited as government militia because they have extensive knowledge of their areas of operation compared with other military personnel. “As far as AFP is concerned, human rights violations have never been tolerated in our ranks. We have given emphasis in protection and promotion of human rights in all aspects of our security operations embodied in Internal Peace and Security Plan – Bayanihan,” he said. Burgos said that should there be any human rights violations, it would be acted upon immediately, as the AFP is always open in case if they see (any human rights violations) involving personnel. The military has assigned one non-commissioned officer for every 10 Cafgu personnel to ensure that these militiamen will abide to the military’s “principles” of human rights, Burgos said. He added that if any militia or military personnel was involve in any human rights violations these should be reported to the AFP. Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Widening rich-poor gap stokes protests Agence France-Presse, Associated Press 1:31 am | Monday, October 17th, 2011 Widening rich-poor gap stokes protests Agence France-Presse, Associated Press 1:31 am | Monday, October 17th, 2011
Buoyed by the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, protests swept across Asia, the Americas and Europe on Saturday, with hundreds and in some cases tens of thousands expressing discontent at corporate greed and rising unemployment. In Rome, small groups of restive young people turned a largely peaceful protest into a riot, setting fire to at least one building and a police van and clashing with police officers, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. The police estimated that dozens of protesters had been injured, along with 26 security officials; 12 people were arrested. At least 88 people were arrested in New York, including 24 accused of trespassing in a Greenwich Village branch of Citibank and 45 during a raucous rally of thousands of people in and around Times Square. More than 1,000 people filled Washington Square Park at night, but almost all of them left after dozens of police officers with batons and helmets streamed through the arch and warned that they would be enforcing a midnight curfew. Fourteen were arrested for remaining in the park. Other than Rome’s, the demonstrations across Europe were largely peaceful, with thousands of people marching past ancient monuments and gathering in front of capitalist symbols like the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Similar scenes unfolded across cities on several continents, including in Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles, where several thousand people marched to City Hall as passing drivers honked their support. But just as the rallies in New York have represented a variety of messages—signs have been held in opposition to US President Barack Obama yards away from signs in support of him—so did Saturday’s protests contain a grab bag of sentiments, opposing nuclear power, political corruption and the privatization of water. Widening gap Yet despite the difference in language, landscape and scale, the protests were united in frustration with the widening gap between the rich and the poor. GREEK TRAGEDY Greek activists, inspired by the Spanish Indignants, cover their ears, mouths or eyes in Athens’ Syntagma Square in front of the Greek parliament. AFP “I have no problem with capitalism,” Herbert Haberl, 51, said in Berlin. “But I find the way the financial system is functioning deeply unethical. We shouldn’t bail out the banks. We should bail out the people.” In New York, where the occupation of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan was moving into its second month, a large crowd marched north early on Saturday afternoon to Washington Square Park, where it was joined by several hundred college students who decried, among other things, student debt and unemployment. “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” protesters chanted from within police barricades. In late afternoon, the crowds marched up Avenue of the Americas toward a heavily barricaded Times Square, beseeching onlookers to join in with cries of “You are the 99 percent.” For the protesters, marching on Times Square held almost as much significance as did protesting against Wall Street. “Times Square represents business as usual—buy, buy, buy in this economic climate, watch the latest show,” said Elias Holtz, 29, a Web designer who lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn. “But the crisis is everywhere.” Time for people to rise Two dozen people were arrested at a Citibank branch on LaGuardia Place on trespassing charges. Citibank, in a statement, said the protesters “were very disruptive and refused to leave after being repeatedly asked, causing our staff to call 911.” In Washington, several hundred people marched through downtown, beginning in the early morning, passing by several banks. Escorted by the police, the marchers also demonstrated in front of the White House and the treasury department before moving on to a rally on National Mall, where they were joined by representatives of unions and other supporters. The protests were inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States and the Indignants in Spain, targeting 951 cities in more than 80 countries around the globe. It was the biggest show of power yet by a movement born on May 15 when a rally in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square sparked a worldwide campaign focused on anger over unemployment and opposition to the financial elite. This weekend, the global protest effort came as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 industrialized nations meet in Paris to discuss economic issues, including ways to tackle Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. “I think it is very moving that the movement that was born here has extended throughout the world. It was about time for people to rise up,” 24-year-old Carmen Martin said as she marched toward Puerta del Sol. Only the beginning In Rome, which saw the worst violence of the day, the march quickly degenerated into running street battles between groups of hooded protesters and riot police who fired tear gas and water jets into the crowd. “Today is only the beginning. We hope to move forward with a global movement. There are many of us and we want the same things,” said Andrea Muraro, 24, an engineering student from Padua. “Only One Solution: Revolution!” read a placard. One group carried a cardboard coffin with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s name on it. Berlusconi later condemned the “incredible level of violence” at the march, which took place amid a security lockdown. The Vatican condemned an attack by protesters on the 18th century church of Santi Marcellino and Pietro near St. John Lateran Square, where much of Saturday’s violence occurred. “When I came down, I saw the entrance door had been smashed in,” the church’s parish priest, Fr. Giuseppe Ciucci, was quoted by Italian media as saying. “The Virgin Mary’s statue which was at the entrance had been taken away and I saw it had been thrown into the street and smashed,” he said. Tens of thousands of protesters assembled in Madrid on Saturday evening, when chants mingled with live music, including a rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” lending the downtown area an upbeat feel on an unusually balmy fall afternoon. ‘Culmination of dream’ VIOLENT TURN Protesters attack a police vehicle during a demonstration in Rome. Others set fire to a government office. AFP Brief clashes were reported in London, where the police were out in force with dozens of riot vans, canine units and hundreds of officers. But the gathering, attended by people of all ages, was largely peaceful, with a picnic atmosphere and people streaming in and out of a nearby Starbucks. WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, made an appearance when a crowd assembled in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral. To loud cheers, Assange called the protest movement “the culmination of a dream.” Around 250 protesters set up camp outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of London on Sunday, promising to occupy the site indefinitely to show their anger at bankers and politicians over the global economic crisis. In the Portuguese capital, where some 50,000 rallied, Mathieu Rego, 25, said: “We are victims of financial speculation and this austerity program is going to ruin us. We have to change this rotten system.” The European Union also became a target for anger as the eurozone debt crisis continues, with some 9,000 protesters marching to its headquarters in Brussels and rallying outside the European Central Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt. Unfolding revolution More than 10,000 Canadians blew bubbles, strummed guitars and chanted anticorporate slogans at peaceful protests in cities across the country. VENDETTA MASKS Inspired by the film “V for Vendetta,” protesters wear masks in Barcelona, Spain. AFP “I believe a revolution is happening,” said 30-year-old Annabell Chapa, who brought her year-old son Jaydn along in a stroller to Toronto’s Saint James Park. In Mexico, Peru and Chile, thousands marched to protest what they slammed as an unfair financial system and stagnant unemployment. As the day began, around 500 people gathered in the heart of Hong Kong’s financial district to vent their anger. About 100 demonstrators in Tokyo also voiced fury at the Fukushima nuclear accident. Another 600 demonstrators in Sydney set up camp outside Australia’s central bank, where the plight of refugees and Aboriginal Australians was added to the financial concerns. With reports from New York Times News Service and Reuters Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Widening rich-poor gap stokes protests Agence France-Presse, Associated Press 1:31 am | Monday, October 17th, 2011 The Story Behind Subic-made ships of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils., Inc.
Author: Hanjin Workers A Briefing Paper: The Story Behind Subic-made ships of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils., Inc. Since June 2008, Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils., Inc. manufactured and delivered twenty four vessels, 14 of which is worth $850 million. For the last two years, Hanjin remains the top exporter in Subic Freeport Zone by earning a total amount of $ 372.74 Million freight on board (FOB)[1]. With an initial investment of $721 Million, the South Korean conglomerate started operating in May 2006. It was the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Philippines that inked a 50-year lease agreement with then President Arroyo. Hanjin started out with a 15,000 workforce it now employs 21, 000 Filipino workers. Now, the company targets to sell about $700 Million worth of vessels by 2010, $935 Million in 2011, and $1.28 Billion in 2012. Taking into account the generous benefits bundled with the deal like the ten year tax holiday in less than four years the company will be earning back its $ 1.8 Billion investment in no time. It is for this reason that Hanjin quality assurance director Yoonha Kim commended the Filipino workers for ‘learning fast in shipbuilding’. What then is the state of its 21,000 diligent Filipino shipbuilders? Recurrence of Accidents and Maltreatment SAMAHAN (Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Hanjin Shipyard) in its documentation observed in the early week of March 2011 an alarming frequency in fatal accidents occurring at the Subic site. In a span of almost five months, four workers died out of twenty-seven (27) grave accidents that occurred at the shipyard. These accident victims were either confined in the hospital or incapacitated just as the case of Ronaldo Alvarez who was caught between two metal panel boards that painfully twisted his lower torso turning his lower body invalid. He underwent three major operations including blood transfusions. Whereas, less serious accidents such as minor skin wounds or abrasions, skin irritation, swollen and irritated eyes from over-exposure to welding fumes and metal fillings and a loss of a limb or two occur with alarming frequency. Every day, the long line of workers awaiting treatment from the nurses on duty at the small clinic has become a living testimony to how dangerous shipyard work is. On the contrary, from March 28 to June 11, the association documented six (6) cases of maltreatment of Filipino workers by Korean superiors. Maltreatment ranges from choking, kicking, being hit on the head with solid metal flashlight (Maglite) or being hit by an industrial scissor (used for cutting iron sheets). Questionable Safety In the Workplace The poor safety record of the light-industrial Zone and Freeport came to light in 2008 with a string of accidents and deaths. Congress and Senate Labor Committee took steps to conduct an inquiry into the matter. In the first quarter of 2009, the number of deaths reached twenty four (24) while according to the Occupational Health and Safety section of the Labor Department reported 5,000 accidents with 40 deaths. Workers were encouraged to expose how their Korean superiors handle them like yelling, swearing, knocking their heads, kicking and hitting them with hard objects in order to “extract obedience.” Food is another perennial problem as it was often stale or maggot laden. It was also pointed out that one of the reasons of the accidents is the widespread use of subcontractors. In an ocular visit conducted by Senator Jinggoy Estrada on the shipyard the following recommendations were cited:
At first SAMAHAN’s registration was rejected but eventually granted last March 2010. Once more, the management appealed and the DOLE Region III immediately revoked the association’s registration. Through the efforts of supportive Church groups like Urban Missionaries (UM-AMRSP) and the National Secretariat on Social Action, Justice and Peace (CBCP-NASSA JP), the SAMAHAN certificate is reinstated by the Office of National Director of DOLE-BLR last September 2010. The alarming return of fatalities and serious injuries from preventable accidents and maltreatment by Korean superiors (with deliberateness unheard of in prior incidents) as well as unclean or sometimes stale and maggot-laden food at the canteen; the workers wrote several letters to the management included in this letter is the demand to reinstate the sixty-nine (69) illegally dismissed union and SAMAHAN members. The workers rejoiced when the management without answering the association’s letter for a dialogue; started to fix their food, provide uniforms and safety gadgets such as: safety shoes, and goggles, gas mask and helmet to some employees. Yet, in two days time the workers are back to the old cycle: stale food, poor quality equipment and worn-out uniforms; followed by four consecutive accidents that resulted in the death of two workers last April 8 to 15, 2011. In a bid to show their growing concern and alarm that the shipyard will once again be their graveyard the workers held lunch break noise barrage on the eve of May 1 and on May 26 they wrote a follow-up letter to the management. The demands of the group are simple: create a committee between the Hanjin management and the workers representative from SAMAHAN to jointly resolve the following:
### Contact Persons: Alfie Alipio-President(SAMAHAN)0930 1870 800 Joey Gonzales-Secretary- 0907 8320 094[email protected] Precy Dellomes (MAKABAYAN)0905 3652 391 Email: [email protected] Ernesto Arellano (President) (NUBCW–BWI) – 0922 8355 685 and Tess Borgonios – 0917 8256 954 [email protected] Subic, Zambales - “Shipbuilding is a high risk job; laxity on safety measures turns a shipyard into a gravely dangerous zone” this is the statement of Alfie Alipio, President of Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Hanjin Shipyard (SAMAHAN) in response to the accident that occurred yesterday at the Subic Shipyard or PHILSECO a shipbreaker company after a portion of a scaffold collapsed claiming the lives of five Pinoy workers while injuring six others.
“This horrible accident puts into the limelight the struggle for workplace safety of the Filipino workers in HANJIN’s Subic shipyard,” said Precy Dagooc, secretary general of labor center Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (MAKABAYAN). Adding that, “if this accidents could happen in a company (PHILSECO) that strictly implements health and safety rules how much more in HANJIN a South Korean shipbuilding giant whose laxity on health and safety implementation caused for the death of 4 workers out of 28 serious accidents in the last five months. It can be recalled that last October 4, 2011 the Commission on Human Rights called for a dialogue with the management of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils. Inc. (HHICPI), the Task Force Hanjin headed by the Region III labor department, SAMAHAN and the Church Labor Conference. The initial dialogue exposed a wide gap in health and safety implementation, the labor department’s leniency in compelling HANJIN to comply in Philippine and internationally recognized labor laws such as the right to workplace safety, right to self-organization and collective bargaining agreement. “The rise of work-related deaths and the lack of financial support to the families of the victims is also a growing concern,” noted Alipio, “last May 27 another worker Aries Ariel Aquillo died from multi organ malfunction his family only received a Php 2, 000 donation from the HAnjin management.” MAKABAYAN alongside the Church Labor Conference demands onto P.Noy to bring justice to the Filipinos, uphold human dignity and save the lives of the 21,000 shipbuilders; HANJIN must comply to Philippine labor laws. ### |
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