December 11, 2006

Cavite labor activists shot: one killed, two wounded

Two labor activists who were members of the Solidarity of Cavite
Workers (SCW) were shot by a lone assassin in front of  Gate 2 of the
Japanese-owned Yazaki-EMI in Anabu, Imus, Cavite at 6:15  this morning.
 A caliber .45 pistol was used according to the witnesses.

According to Nora Diloy, union secretary of Samahan ng mga Manggagawa
sa EMI (SM-Independent),  Jesus Buth Servida, 32 years old of
Malagasang, Imus, Cavite, was killed instantly when hit in the face and
mouth while his companion, Joel Sale, 32 years old, sustained three
gunshot wounds - one in the face that exited to his lip, at the back,
and on the right side of his body. They went at the company to deliver
vegetables when waylaid.

One Kenny Mari Severo, 21 years old, and worker of the said company was
also hit in the left temple of the head by a stray bullet. The wounded
were rushed to the UMC Hospital in Imus and were pronounced out of
danger.

Diloy said that Servida and Sale were with two other companions,
Michael Omedes and Geminiano Retutar, waiting for the company guard to
open the gate. The four were still seating inside the vehicle when the
gunman suddenly approached them on the right side where Servida and
Sale were seating and fired several shots. Servida was seating beside
the driver's seat and Sale was at his back. The gunman walked
casually away from the scene of the crime in full view of the public.

Marlene Gonzales, chair of the Solidarity of Cavite Workers, condemned
to the strongest terms the killing of Servida and the wounding of  Sale
and Severo.

"This is not a simple intra-union dispute. This is a
politically-motivated murder being carried out against the militant and
progressive labor activists in Cavite. The no union, no strike policy
of Governor Ireneo Maliksi is taking the lives of the labor activists
one by one now," said Gonzales.

"Because of this evil policy, union formations and strikes has been
labelled communist-inspired undertakings in Cavite by the Office of the
Provincial Governor, which eventually become a big threat to the lives
of labor activists and organizers,"  Gonzales further stated.

It would be recalled  that Gerardo Cristobal, former union president at
Yazaki-EMI was also waylaid by masked men in April 28, 2006 near the
Yazaki-EMI plant. The gunmen were later identified by Cristobal as
members of Imus PNP and  Cavite Civil Security Unit. The shooting of
Cristobal was one of the violent incidents that the US retail giants
recently asked President Arroyo in their letter to look into.

Gonzales also said, in January 2005, Cris Abad, vice president of
Kristong Manggagawa was also killed by unknown assassin in front of the
company after he squealed on the rampant corruption on the union funds
of his co-union officers in Kristong Manggagawa to their rival group
which is that  of Cristobal.

According to Gonzales, Servida and Sale were both full-time organizers
of the SM-EMI as part of the union's program to help other workers in
Imus and Bacoor to get organize.

As of press time, Sale is still undergoing operation while Severo has
to undergo  a CT scan.

Servida, Sale, Omedes, and Retutar were former employees and officers
of the union Kristong Manggagawa sa EMI (KM-EMI) of the Yazaki-EMI who
were dismissed by the management on December 20, 2005 together with the
former union president Gerardo Cristobal at the height of the
intra-union dispute that started in midyear of 2002.

The four were also part of the new concessionaires operating the
Workers' Delight, one of the two canteens inside the Yazaki-EMI
contracted by the  officers of the new union SM-EMI. The operation of
the canteen was part of the provision of  the first collective
bargaining agreement  (CBA) signed this November between SM-EMI and the
Yazaki-EMI management.

Despite being terminated, all of them help formed the new SM-EMI union
to challenge  the KM-EMI in a certification election to determine who
would represent  the 4,000 workers in a new CBA. The former won a
landslide victory over the latter. The officers of the KM-EMI were
being supported by Governor Ireneo Maliksi while the SM-EMI by the
Workers Assistance Center (WAC).