PHOTO ESSAY
Silver Day
The 25th anniversary of the
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May First Movement), observed last week with
rallies all over the country, was a day of both joy and grief for those
who took part in its observance. So it was in Manila, where the main rally
was held.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ALEXANDER MARTIN
REMOLLINO
Bulatlat
The 25th
anniversary of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May First Movement), observed
last week with rallies all over the country, was a day of both joy and
grief for those who took part in its observance. So it was in Manila,
where the main rally was held.
The workers rejoiced
as they reminisced victories earned in countless fights against tyranny
and social injustice: the ousting of two presidents, Ferdinand Marcos, a
dictator, and Joseph Estrada; as well as triumphs in countless labor
battles including strikes. They also remembered that even before the birth
of the KMU it was workers who staged the first open protest action under
the martial-law regime, namely the strike of La Tondeña brewery workers in
1975.
But even as they
celebrated their hard-earned victories, they also mourned for all fellow
workers and friends of the labor movement who in the past 25 years either
fell in the line of battle – like Rolando Olalia, the seven slain Hacienda
Luisita workers, and Edwin Bargamento; or died of sickness or old age but
were dedicated to the workingman’s cause to the very end, like Felixberto
Olalia, Sr., Nonoy Librado, Serge Cherneguin, and Isabel “Ka Chabeng”
Olalia.
In last Sunday’s
rally they reiterated the six-year-old call for a P125 wage increase, even
as they called for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who,
they said, has been working against the interests of the workers and other
impoverished sectors.
Of course, like
previous Labor Day rallies, last Sunday’s activity was a day not just for
workers. Joining workers in their observance of the big day were activists
from other sectors.
Artists had designed
the giant mural on stage and they gave a variety of cultural performances,
migrant workers and their families talked of common problems of Filipino
workers whether at home or abroad; scientists came with their computations
on the country’s latest hunger and poverty statistics; church leaders
spoke of the liberating faith as one that sides with the oppressed.
Peasant leaders spoke
of how closely linked are the fights of those who till the land and those
who toil in the factories and other workplaces. Danilo Ramos of the
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Philippine Peasant Movement) was
as always in his element, speaking of the woes and rage of the peasantry
while holding a stalk of palay and a placard demanding a stop to
the killings of “peasants who feed the nation.”
Urban poor leader
Carmen Deunida was also there with her always-quotable tirades against the
current Malacañang occupant, driving the protesters to laughter as she
said of President Macapagal-Arroyo: “Mas malaki pa ang nunal niya sa
mukha kaysa sa nagawa niya, kung meron man, para sa kapakanan ng
manggagawa at ng buong sambayanan” (The mole on her face is bigger
than what she has done, if any, for the good of the workers and the entire
people).
The long day (the
program in Manila lasted from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m.) ended with the workers
and other activists raising torches to the tune of the classic “Internationale,”
even as they worried that they might be hit by sparks from the fireworks
that exploded above them. Bulatlat
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