In its certification, the Taguig
Police said Santiago was on board a motorcycle when he and an unidentified
companion tailed the FTI union officers and Santos from the PLACE office
along E. Rodriguez Ave. in Quezon City to the FTI offices in Western
Bicutan, Taguig City.
Mistaken target
In a telephone interview, Trinidad C.
Pinisa, 58, union treasurer of the Nagkakaisang Bisig ng Manggagawa sa FTI
(NMB-FTI or the United Strength of Workers - FTI), said she noticed that
Santiago was tailing their FX van from PLACE to the FTI premises. In fact,
when they stopped at a gasoline station near the Bicutan area to put water
in their vehicle’s radiator, a white Adventure van stopped in front of
their FX van. “Buti na lang pinaalis sila ng security guard,” (It
was good that the security guard told them to leave.) Panisa said.
As soon as the union officers reached
the FTI complex, Panisa said she immediately told the FTI Security
Department to apprehend Santiago and his companion. During police
interrogation where Panisa was also present because she stood as the main
complainant, Santiago apologized profusely to her. “Manang sorry po,
nagkamali lang po kami,” (I am sorry we just made a mistake.) Panisa
quoted Santiago as saying.
Panisa said that after the
interrogation on Santiago, another policeman, who she did not name for
security reasons, told her that the Army intelligence officer was actually
after their lawyer and the tailing incident was a case of mistaken
identity. The police officer told Panisa that Santiago and his companion
mistook Santos, who was wearing a barong, for a lawyer.
The FTI union has acquired the
services of PLACE lawyers pro bono. Their lead counsel is Saladero.
Experienced
The soft-spoken and down-to-earth
Saladero, 47, is an experienced labor lawyer and one of the founding
members of PLACE in 2000. He worked at the Public Attorneys Office of the
province of Rizal from 1987 to 1990 after he passed the bar in 1985. He
finished law at the San Beda College in Manila in 1983.
Since 1990, he is counsel for the
National Federation of Labor Unions (NAFLU), the largest worker’s
federations affiliated with KMU. He also became a member of two other
lawyers’ groups, Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and
Nationalism Inc. (MABINI) in 1986 and Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)
since 1986 to the present.
Apart from the FTI union, Saladero is
also the lead counsel for the workers’ union of Nestle Philippines in
Cabuyao, Laguna which has been on strike for the last four years. Nestle
union president Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna was murdered last year by
unidentified men on board a motorcycle. The killers are believed to be
members of the military’s death squad.
PLACE handles over 700 labor cases,
the most controversial ones include the unions of multi-national companies
such as Nestle, Triumph, San Miguel Corp., and Lepanto Mining, Danding
Cojuangco-owned companies Magnolia and Coca-Cola and the mill and sugar
workers’ unions of Hacienda Luisita, the 6,000-hectare sugar plantation
owned and operated by the family of former Pres. Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino.
“My heart bleeds”
Another PLACE founding member is
Mahinay who will forever be etched in history as that feisty lawyer of the
mill and sugarcane workers of Hacienda Luisita who staged a strike in Nov.
2004. Seven workers and their supporters died at the picketline after
soldiers sprayed bullets at the workers who vowed to continue their strike
until they have reached a respectable agreement with the hacienda owners.
A day before the massacre, Mahinay was
heard telling the workers, “Ang welga hindi sa korte napapanaluan kundi
dito sa piketlayn.” (A strike is not won at the courts but at the
picketline.)
“Dumudugo talaga puso ko dyan,”
(My heart bleeds for them.) Mahinay said referring to the plight of
agricultural workers.
At age seven, Mahinay said she had to
work as an agricultural worker in a sugar plantation in the town of
Escalante, province of Negros Occidental, to support her studies. She
earned a measly P2 ($0.04 at an exchange rate of $1=P49.82) for a day’s
work of planting, weeding and fertilizing.
After two years in college taking up a
secretarial course, Mahinay stopped school and worked as a full-time
organizer for the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) in Negros
and later of industrial workers in Cebu. “Ang abogado namin nun iisa na
nga lang hikain pa,” (We only had one lawyer then who was even
asthmatic.) she said.
Because of the lack of legal counsels,
the sugar worker turned labor organizer went back to school to take up
commerce and then finished law at the Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU)
in Manila.
While taking up law, she volunteered
as a paralegal worker for the Public Interest Law Center (PILC). After
graduation, she and eight other lawyers set up PLACE and offered legal
services to workers.
Serious effects
“Our work is seriously affected,”
Saladero said of the harassment against their organization.
Moreover, Saladero said it has made it
much more difficult for their indigent clients from the labor sector
especially those who need immediate legal advice.
“Mahirap ang consultations pag
ganito,” (It is hard to do consultations in this
situation.) Mahinay added referring to their erratic schedule due to
security considerations. She said they are forced to meet their clients
during unholy hours in different places.
Since they cannot afford professional
security aides, they said their clients serve as their on-and-off security
who would accompany them during hearings, negotiations or consultations.
No opportunity for
legal redress
Since the surveillance in their office
intensified, Saladero said they could not help but skip their scheduled
hearings at times.
“More than its personal effects on us
lawyers, this unabated harassment is affecting the judicial system. It
affects the administration of justice because the workers are losing their
representation in court,” he said.
“Ang mas malalim na kahulugan nito
ay ayaw ng gobyerno na bigyan ng oportunidad ang mga manggagawa sa ligal
na pamamaraan,” (The deeper reason for this is
that the government does not want workers to have the opportunity for
legal redress.) he said. Bulatlat
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