Bulatlat - The Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine

This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 4, March 8, 2006

Bulacan Union Leader Missing

By BULATLAT

Posted 5:50 p.m. March 8, 2006

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) reported today that Rogelio Concepcion, 36, has been missing since 10:00 p.m. March 6.

The victim is officer-in-charge of Solid Development Corp. Workers Association (SDCWA), the workers’ union of the Solid Development Corp. (SDC), a manufacturing company that produces thread, in San Ildefonso, Bulacan (66 km north of Manila).

The report said Concepcion’s family fears he was abducted by suspected elements of the 24^th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IB PA) which is under the 7^th Infantry Division (ID) under the command of Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan.

The regional chapter of the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights) said it has recorded 14 cases of political killings and nine cases of disappearances in the region since January alone.

Rogelio's wife, Marissa, reported to the CTUHR that she spotted a suspicious van parked near their house in the afternoon of March 6 and stayed there until late in the evening.

In its report to the CTUHR, the Kilusan ng Manggagawa sa Bulacan (KMB of Alliance of Workers’ in Bulacan) said the same military unit entered SDC and conducted military census on its workers in Nov. 2005. The military has since stayed at the factory’s compound.

At about the same period, the KMB report said Concepcion and Ador Vasalio, the former president of the union, complained of heavy surveillance at their homes.

On May last year, the union staged a strike because of management's refusal to recognize the union despite the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) decision declaring SDCWA as the workers' sole and exclusive bargaining agent. Bulatlat

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