This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 34, October 2-8, 2005
Remembering
Fort
by Dennis Espada The
positions that Diosdado "Ding" Fortuna (or simply Fort) held in the numerous
labor organizations he had led reveals a badge of unflagging service ― chairman
of Anakpawis Partylist-Southern Tagalog; co-chairman of the National Coalition
for the Protection of Worker's Rights in Southern Tagalog (NCPWR-ST); chair of
the Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (Pamantik or Unity of Workers
in Southern Tagalog), Kilusang Mayo Uno's (KMU) regional center ― the list goes
on. Karina
Castillo of the NCPWR-ST remembers him as a wisecracker who would throw
infectious jokes during stressful moments. He could also sing and write songs.
"Kahit inaabot kami ng madaling-araw sa mga pulong, walang inaantok sa amin
dahil sa kanya. 'Di ko alam kung magagawa pa namin 'yun ngayon” (Even if the
meetings last till the next morning, nobody gets sleepy because of him I don’t
know if we can still do that now). ”But when I
watch you here at the picket, you embody for me what I think Jesus Christ would
be. I see youcleaning tables, nurturing your grandchild, encouraging the people
around; you are just so much a gentle servant-leader'. © 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
The word “fort” signifies
strength, consistency and stability. For the militant workers of Southern
Tagalog, Fort is slain Nestle union president Diosdado “Fort” Fortuna. If one is
to ask them, the dictionary connotations are also characteristics that have made
Fort the man a pillar of strength for the trade union movement.
Bulatlat
With
Fort's
passing, he will be remembered by all those who knew him personally and
through the many younger comrades he inspired to become devoted to the people's
cause.
Pillar of strength
Fort was born on Nov. 18, 1954. Growing up in a peasant family
in Canlubang, Laguna, he was driven by an abiding interest to serve the
oppressed amid the turbulence at the former sugar estate once claimed by the
affluent Yulo family.
He finished high school at the Rizal Institute in 1971 and
subsequently took up AB Political Science at the Laguna College of Business and
Arts (LCBA) in Calamba City, south of Manila. Unfortunately, he was not able to
complete the four-year course.
Since 1976, he worked at the Swiss-owned multinational company
Nestle Cabuyao factory where he was assigned to operate machines that process
instant powdered milk.
Luz, 45, his wife with whom he had three children, recalls how
Fort was "a perfect husband ― considerate, calm, and with
no pretensions." Through the years, he has been looked upon as the provider,
disciplinarian and pillar of strength. For her, he was her heart and wing.
Whenever he was home, which became rare as he became immersed in
various campaigns, he made sure he spent all his hours with Luz and the
children.
"Marami akong natutunan sa kanya -- taktika, pamamaraan at
karanasan sa pakikibaka...'di ko alam kung kaya
kong tumbasan 'yung dedikasyon niya sa kilusan, laluna kung ang pag-uuusapan ay
karapatan at laban ng mga manggagawa" (I learned a
lot from him – tactics, methods and experiences in struggle. I don’t think I
can match his dedication to the movement, especially to workers’ rights and
struggles), she said, holding back the tears.
Union man
Fort joined the union in the 1970s where he learned the fine
points of working-class politics. Shortly after the brutal assassination of then
union president Meliton Roxas in 1989, he assumed its leadership.
In 2001, talks between union and management bogged down when the
latter insisted that the retirement benefits be excluded from the collective
bargaining agreement (CBA), arguing it is a unilateral grant by the company.
Nestle workers were outraged, as management defied the Supreme
Court's (SC) decision in 1991 which stated, "The court agrees with the National
Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) findings that the retirement plan was a
collective bargaining issue right from the start (page 109, Rollo)."
In 2002, more than 600 workers went on strike. A year later, the
Court of Appeals affirmed the SC ruling. Despite a wave of violent dispersals in
the picket line by the police and military and continued
harassment of union officers, the strikers vigilantly stood their ground to
demand justice.
In a media forum held last April, Fort spoke about
military-sponsored public slide shows tagging legitimate
people's organizations as "communist fronts," labor organizers being tracked
down by suspected intelligence agents, and himself being "blacklisted."
"'Yung pamangkin at anak ko na nag-aaplay sa trabaho, 'yung isa
natanggap na pero kinabukasan tinanggal dahil 'Fortuna' daw siya"
(My nephew and child applied for work; one of them was accepted by dismissed the
following because his surname is ‘Fortuna’), he said, warning about the possible
threat of military crackdown against the swelling ranks of militant trade
unions.
He asked: "Ito ba ang kahulugan ng mga kataga ni Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) nang sabihin niya na 'lalabanan
natin ang mga kriminal, gambling at drug lords at 'yung mga terorista sa mga
pabrikang lumilikha ng trabaho?’”
(Is this what GMA meant when she said, 'let us fight against criminals, gambling
and drug lords, and those who terrorize factories that create
jobs?)
Moment of truth
Rebecca Lawson, one of the mission workers of the United Church
of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) who have met Fort wrote the following
passage:
"A group of international, young, church people were finishing
an 'immersion of the industrial reality' andhaving an assessment with him last
Sept. 19. As we sat in a circle sharing our experience together with the
workers, a Canadian woman commented, 'Kuya Fort, I am so inspired by you. When
you were introduced, the list of your leadership was so long: chair of several
workers’ organizations, secretary-general of another, president of the Nestle
union. In my country, those leading so many people are usually full of
importance.
"Having sensed evil around, a truthful humor opened mouth and I
added, 'But you know what they did to Jesus...' A warm and sad laugh enveloped
us and tears streamed down the face of Kuya Fort."
On Sept. 22 at around 6 p.m., while riding a motorcycle on his
way home to Rodriquez Subdivision in Barangay Paciano, Calamba City, Fort was
mercilessly shot to death by unknown assailants. He was 50. Bulatlat