Interim Report - Report No 272, June 1990

Case No 1444 (Philippines) - Complaint date: 25-FEB-88 - Closed

1. 312. The Committee has already examined this case on two previous occasions when it presented interim conclusions to the Governing Body. These were approved at its Sessions in February and November 1989 (see 262nd Report, paras. 268 to 310 and 268th Report, paras. 482 to 534 respectively).
2. 313. The Government supplied certain observations on the case in a communication dated 10 April 1990.
3. 314. The Philippines have ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 315. When the Committee last examined this case in November 1989, it referred certain legislative aspects of it to the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations for ongoing analysis in the context of the Philippines' observance of Convention No. 87. It noted at that same time that the Government had not replied to one communication transmitted recently by the complainant organisation, the KMU, and accordingly adjourned its examination of the issues raised in that communication until the Government's comments on it were received.
2. 316. As regards the human rights violations against unionists and union leaders, the Committee requested more detailed information on various specific incidents and urged the Government to initiate investigations into the alleged murder of several trade unionists. It repeated its appeal for the dismantling of vigilante groups.
3. 317. In the light of the Committee's interim conclusions, the Governing Body, in November 1989, approved the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee requests the Government to send as soon as possible its detailed comments and further information on the investigations under way and on the KMU's additional communication of 1 March 1989 which concerns specific allegations of arrest, abduction and murder of officers of the KMU and its affiliates.
   • (b) It also asks the Government to send its observations on the KMU's most recent communication dated 25 September 1989 as rapidly as possible.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to reply to the allegations of general anti-union violence demonstrated by the repression of the Laguna May Day celebration in 1988 and the numerous deaths and disappearances at the hands of vigilante groups documented by the complainants, and presses the Government to supply copies of the reports of the various recently established national monitoring bodies.
   • (d) It urges the Government to adopt vigorous measures to dismantle the vigilante groups.
   • (e) It urges the Government to do its utmost to bring the provisions of the Labor Code, as amended, into conformity with Convention No. 87 giving particular attention to the points criticised by the Committee of Experts over the past several years, concerning in particular the penalties for illegal strikes.
   • (f) The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the implementation in practice of Department of Justice Circular No. 10-A.
   • (g) The Committee refers the legislative aspects of this case to the Committee of Experts in the context of its examination of Convention No. 87.

B. The complainant's most recent allegations

1. 318. At its November 1989 examination of this case, the Committee noted receipt of a KMU communication dated 25 September (but received on 24 October) 1989 concerning which the Government had not had time to reply to (see 268th Report, Case No. 1444, para. 502).
2. 319. The main thrust of the KMU's allegations is the anti-union role of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs). It relies on reports of independent human rights groups - such as the 1989 Amnesty International report - in condemning the violence of government-sponsored armed civilian groups.
3. 320. First, the complainant lists a series of deaths and disappearances of KMU-affiliate and TUCP-affiliate members:
4. (1) Reynaldo Gonzales, 20 years old: Negros Occidental; disappeared after being interrogated by the 5th Scout Rangers and 61st Army Battalion on 30 August 1989.
5. (2) Alberto Ramos, 21 years old: Quezon City; shot dead during a strike picket by Sigue Sigue Sputnik gunmen.
6. (3) Felix Catanda, 25 years old: As above.
7. (4) Arturo Mirasol, 42 years old: Manila, Golden Taxi Employees' and Workers' Union; killed by a gunman on 7 September 1989.
8. (5) Ildefonso Caran, 40 years old: As above.
9. (6) Gregorio Delumias, 38 years old: As above.
10. (7) Danilo Acuña, 29 years old: Manila, Golden Taxi Union strike picket; shot and stabbed on 26 June 1989.
11. (8) Galileo Dinoy, 31 years old: Chairman of Golden Taxi Union; shot dead by persons identified as policemen, on 26 June 1989.
12. (9) Arnold Ilustrisimo, 32 years old: Silahis International Hotel Union; shot dead on 12 July 1989.
13. 321. Secondly, the KMU alleges the illegal arrest and torture of unionists. It supplies a copy of certain Regional Trial Court documents which state that the accused were charged with illegal possession of firearms and/or membership of an illegal organisation. It also supplies an unsigned statement from a member of the human rights group called "Medical Action Group Inc." certifying signs of torture on 15 named detainees at the Bicuntan Military Camp. In the case of the arrest of four other unionists (at first held at Rizal Provincial Jail and three of them being released later on bail) the KMU states that they were charged with murdering a police chief and his bodyguard.
14. 322. Thirdly, the KMU alleges other unfair labour practices by management such as: the violent dispersal on 24 May 1989 of the G-Liner Bus Company strike picket, the arrest and detention on 13 March 1989 of 40 members of a KMU affiliate in Camarines Sur; the arrest and violent dispersal on 29 July 1989 of the Gaisano Iligan Inc., department store workers' picketline (the 19 strikers were subsequently released on bail); the police abduction on 1 May 1989 of Felix Cardano and Rodolfo Ubusan, both KMU-affiliate leaders (the KMU lodged a writ for habeas corpus but hearings have been repeatedly postponed; a request for an inquiry was lodged with the Philippines Commission on Human Rights on 8 May 1989).
15. 323. The KMU fears that certain vigilante groups will not be disbanded. It cites Brigadier General Hermosa declaring on 27 July 1988 that "credible anti-communist groups" in the Visayas region would not be abolished; he specifically stated that members of ALSA MASA and KADRE could not be called "vigilantes", but were mere civilians who had banded together for protection against insurgents. In the KMU's opinion, however, these two groups have been responsible for numerous deaths of unionists and are being armed by the military; they were not created for self-defence but actively aim at suppressing trade union activities. It cites KADRE's violence at Atlas Mines in Cebu as an example of its anti-union tactics. As in previous examinations of the present case, the KMU alleges that Executive Order No. 264 permitting the establishment of Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs) is unconstitutional and that CAFGUs are merely paramilitary vigilante groups operating under another name with impunity. The Philippines Commission on Human Rights lists 29 allegations of human rights violations by CAFGUs, out of a total of 914 violations for 1988.
16. 324. The KMU supplies a copy of a Department of National Defence confidential publication of 4 April 1989 describing the purpose and functioning of "Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary" companies (known as SCAAs). They are to be set up when requested, in private enterprise but subject to military regulations and training. Although part-time soldiers issued with military arms, the members of such CAFGUs are paid by the company concerned, thus becoming, according to the complainant, private armies. The KMU alleges that these armed groups will be used to destroy unions. It refers in this connection to the harassment of unionised sugar workers by hacienda-based CAFGUs in Negros Province. For example, at the Carvina Plantation in Hinigaran, union leaders were refused entry on several occasions, despite the manager's agreement that they could talk to their members, by heavily armed CAFGU members. The KMU supplies a list of 28 CAFGUs stationed on Negros plantations as at September 1989.
17. 325. The KMU also alleges (and supplies documentation on) other violations of human rights by CAFGUs against persons who are not unionists or who were not involved in union activities.
18. 326. Lastly, the complainant calls for the immediate disbanding of CAFGUs and all other vigilante groups, by whatever name they are known.

C. The Government's reply

1. 327. In a communication dated 10 April 1990, the Government points out that the KMU's additional allegations contained in their communications dated 25 September and 1 March 1989 reached the attention of the Government only after it had already submitted its reply to the Committee's earlier recommendations. Therefore, it was unable to present its position on the matter in time for the Committee's meeting. In any case, the Government has taken note of the allegations contained in the two communications and expresses its exception to the claims of the KMU that the upsurge of criminality in the country is the handiwork of the Government fomented specifically for the purpose of trade union repression.
2. 328. It states that trade union repression presumes that there is in law or in fact an all-out effort by the Government to withhold recognition of workers' rights. However, the Philippines Constitution and the recent amendments to the Labor Code, as well as government policies, provide a clearer picture of trade unionism in the country. While it agrees with the Committee's earlier observation that the Government must curb criminality, it finds it unfortunate that the Committee can make a sweeping generalisation that there has been increasing anti-union violence in the country based only on a mere listing of alleged deaths and disappearances submitted by the complainant. According to the Government, the KMU is trying to present a grim picture indicating conscious efforts by the Government to suppress workers' rights by encouraging anti-union violence. The KMU claims that every death and disappearance of any worker is related to union repression.
3. 329. The Government points out that insurgency has grown to serious proportions in the Philippines, particularly in the countryside. There is also a threat to the very stability of the Government emanating from ultra-rightist groups. These groups, aside from continually attempting to overthrow the Government through violent means, have also been waging war with each other on account of their diverse but similarly convoluted ideologies. Under such conditions, criminality would expectedly rise. For example, according to the Government, on a number of occasions, top military and civilian government officials have been gunned down by leftist and rightist elements and recently, rightist elements attempted to wrest government authority by force of arms. These developments may well account for the increase in criminal incidents in the country. However, this certainly is no indication that the Government's effort to protect the majority of its citizens from these threats is a veiled effort to suppress workers' rights.
4. 330. The Government states that close scrutiny of the specific allegations contained in the KMU's most recent communications reveals that they are based merely on speculations and baseless suppositions that the Government has been behind these incidents. On the contrary, the Government believes that its efforts in regard to the full blossoming of human rights in the country is exceptional. It would, moreover, be ironic for the Government to guarantee the recognition of human rights in its Constitution, laws and policies only to resort to violent means to subvert these rights, as the KMU claims. The Government, in the context of its reply to the related Case No. 1426 supplies copies of reports of various national-level monitoring bodies. From these reports it appears that in 1987, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) received 591 and investigated 513 complaints of human rights violations, with the military and police forces topping the list of alleged offenders followed in successive order by the Civilian Home Defence Force (since abolished), ALSA MASA, Tadtad vigilante group and local officials. In 1988, the PCHR investigated 914 human rights complaints (including 321 filed by the military against the Communist Party of the Philippines). For the first quarter of 1989 complaints received by the central and regional offices totalled 503. The PCHR also is expanding its programmes of legal aid and counselling, witness protection, jail visits, public information (including input into school curriculae); members of the police and armed forces also receive human rights training.
5. 331. On the specific allegations of deaths and disappearances contained in the KMU's communications, the Government gives the following information.
6. (1) Investigations by the PCHR pertaining to the deaths of Messrs. Roxas, Barros, Fransisco and Alberio are still continuing. As mentioned earlier, the investigations are hampered by the lack of evidence to facilitate the speedy disposition of the investigation and the filing of appropriate charges in court. However, it has taken note of the Committee's observations that relevant inquiries must be effected speedily so that the perpetrators of these crimes will be identified, charged, tried and sentenced. Hence, the Government has stepped up its investigations on these cases.
7. (2) On the "Mendiola incident", it regrets not having been able to submit information on this case in its earlier communications. However, it wishes to make it known to the Committee that the Government has taken full responsibility for this particular incident and restitution has been extended to the families of the victims. From a PCHR report made available by the Government, it appears that, on 22 February 1987, a clash between government crowd dispersal units and 10,000 or 15,000 farmers (including KMU members) resulted in 12 officially confirmed dead, 30 wounded by gun shots and 12 minor injuries; criminal proceedings were instituted against five uniformed persons whose firing resulted in the deaths and injuries and administrative sanctions were recommended against senior police and military staff for failure to make effective use of their experience and skill in conducting the dispersal operations.
8. (3) On the incidents relating to Messrs. Cueva and Alderite, police investigations have established that: Mr. Gomercindo Cueva was shot in the back of his head by former executive board members of PAMA-SPFL-KMU, a local affiliate of the KMU. The suspects were identified as Julius Bellena and Rolando Cabacang. Cases against these individuals have been filed with the Regional Trial Court of Toledo City in Cebu. In addition, Mr. Peter Alderite was killed by members of a religious cult, the Tadtad group led by a certain Leonardo Buco. A complaint has been filed with the government prosecutor in the area for the prosecution of the suspect in court.
9. (4) The Government still has no information relating to the alleged torture of Mr. Sabidalas by persons unknown, and the fact that no complaint has yet been filed with any agency in Government makes it even more difficult to establish the truth of the allegation, much less the prosecution of the alleged perpetrators.
10. (5) On the specific incidents relating to Messrs. Anino, Quiroz, Peru, Sarias, Espiritu, Adriano, Cubillo, Martines and Mao the Government explains that in August 1989 a report was brought to the attention of the Angeles City police headquarters that two union officers, Messrs. Anino and Quiroz, were missing. The police conducted the corresponding investigations, but up to this time there has been no concrete evidence that could give a definitive conclusion on what happened to the two individuals. The Philippines Commission on Human Rights has already taken cognizance of the cases relating to Messrs. Cubilla, Adriano, Tullao, Peru and Sarias and investigations are still under way. On the death of Mr. Martinez, it has been established that the latter was gunned down by a communist assassination team, also known as "sparrow units". The case has been filed with the Regional Trial Court in Davao City but the accused have eluded arrest and are still at large. Mr. Mao, according to local newspaper accounts, was arrested by police and military authorities last September 1989 for his membership of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines. However, records of the Devao City police station reveal that he was later released. Police investigation noted that the attempt on his life was made in 1988 when he reported for work at a time when his union was staging a strike and preventing co-workers from reporting to work, raising the possibility of the striking workers' involvement in the incident. Lastly, Mr. Espiritu was arrested by the police in November 1988 for acts constituting incitement to sedition; he has since been released on bail.
11. 332. The Government cannot subscribe to the KMU's view that armed vigilante groups are being encouraged as part of government's policies. As previously stated "vigilanteeism" is not sanctioned by the Government, nor is it encouraged. It may be true that Civilian Volunteer Groups now exist as an offshot of the insurgents' efforts to destabilise the Government. But these groups were a spontaneous civilian reaction to curb criminality and illegal and violent activities of the insurgents. In any case, these groups are unarmed and their activities regulated and monitored by the Government through the Peace and Order Councils. The Government refers the Committee to its reply under Case No. 1426 where this matter is discussed in more detail.
12. 333. On Department of Justice Circular No. 10, the Government cannot agree with the KMU's view that the adoption of the circular is tantamount to trade union repression because it applies only to those who are apprehended for criminal acts. The legitimate exercise of trade union rights is fully recognised in the country and is not a crime; those exercising it are not, in any way, criminally liable.
13. 334. With respect to the legislative aspects of the case, it welcomes the Committee's referral of the matter to the Committee of Experts in the context of Convention No. 87. Nevertheless, it stresses that while Act No. 6715 may, in the view of the ILO's supervisory bodies, contain a number of shortcomings, this law was a product of a tripartite undertaking in which the KMU itself was one of the participants and where government participation was minimal.

D. The Committee's conclusions

1. 335. The Committee welcomes at the outset the Government's detailed replies on specific allegations of human rights violations affecting 17 named union leaders or unionists. In particular, the Committee notes that:
   • - the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) investigations are continuing into the deaths of Messrs. Roxas, Fransisco, Barros and Tullao (killed in January 1989), Peru, Alberio (killed in November 1988), and into the cases of Messrs. Cubilla and Adriano (arrested in November 1988), and Sarias (arrested in October 1988);
   • - suspects have been charged and are being tried before the normal courts in the cases of Messrs. Cueva (attempted murder in November 1988) and Alderite (killed in January 1987);
   • - police investigations have been unable to shed light on the disappearance of Messrs. Anino and Quiroz (in August 1988), or on the attempted murder of Mr. Mao (in September 1988);
   • - suspects have been identified but have eluded arrest for the murder of Mr. Martinez (in September 1988);
   • - Mr. Espiritu's arrest (in November 1988) was not on charges of trade union activity but for acts of incitement to sedition and he is released on bail pending trial. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the PCHR investigations and the current court trials (including the trial of Mr. Roda whose proceedings were under way at the Committee's last examination of Case No. 1444) and to supply copies of any decisions or judgements to be handed down.
2. 336. The Committee observes that the Government publicly shoulders full responsibility for the massacre of six named workers in Mendiola on 22 February 1987, has prosecuted those responsible and has paid compensation to the victims' families. It can only regret this tragic violence and expresses, once again, its belief that a climate of violence such as that surrounding the death of trade unionists constitutes a serious obstacle to the exercise of trade union rights (see Digest of decisions and principles of the Committee on Freedom of Association, 1985, third edition, para. 76).
3. 337. Noting that no new information has been supplied on the investigation into the disappearance of Mr. B. Clutario on 3 July 1988, the trial of Mr. W. Orculla arrested on 14 February 1989, or the police repression of the Laguna May Day celebration in 1988, and noting that the alleged torture of Mr. S. Sabidalas on 23 December 1988 has been difficult to investigate, according to the Government, given the absence of any formal complaint that might throw light on the circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to renew its efforts to trace any detail that could help the Committee examine these alleged events in full knowledge of the facts.
4. 338. It also asks the Government to supply its comments on the nine specific incidents listed above involving deaths or disappearances of unionists documented in 1989, as well as on the unfair labour practices allegedly occuring during strike pickets in 1989.
5. 339. As regards the legislative side of this case, the Committee notes that the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations examined Act No. 6715 of 1989 to amend the Labor Code at its 1990 meeting and is addressing certain comments to the Government on continuing shortcomings vis-à-vis the obligations arising from ratification of Convention No. 87. The Committee also observes that Department of Justice Circular No. 10-A is apparently only used to set bail in criminal cases that have no connection with trade union activities.
6. 340. Finally, as regards the general allegations of increased anti-union violence manifested in the spread of vigilante groups (such as KADRE's repression of workers in the Atlas Mining Corporation) the Committee appreciates the Government's denial of any role in encouraging anti-union criminality and its explanation that even its own officials (including the military) as well as other segments of the society have been affected by political violence from both rightist and leftist groups.
7. 341. Nevertheless, the Committee must point out the well-documented cases of direct violence and indirect pressure on unionists by paramilitary groups which - despite the Government's denial - indeed appear to be well-armed and acting with relative impunity. In particular it would again refer to the findings (reflected in the Committee's first examination of this case in February 1989) of the Philippines Senate Committee report (of 1988) that human rights violations had been committed against labour leaders by various vigilante groups. Given the ambiguity of the role of the CAFGUs (created by a 1987 Executive Order to stop the proliferation of unsupervised civilian self-defence groups and meant to be monitored by "peace and order councils" under Executive Order No. 309, but seen by the KMU as yet another method of permitting unscrupulous employers to recruit private anti-union armies), the Committee can only again urge the Government to dismantle such groups. It particularly calls for such action from the Government since the KMU's latest allegations - which the Government merely generally denies without giving details - describe, with supporting evidence, the creation and functioning of yet another type of weapons-bearing subgroup known as SKAAs, "Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary" companies. The Committee regrets this disturbing development.
8. 342. The Committee notes from the various annual reports of national-level monitoring bodies in the Philippines that the machinery to protect against human rights abuses is being used and is critically assessing how to improve internal functioning. It requests the Government to supply up-to-date figures on the number of human rights complaints filed, rejected, investigated, settled or referred by the Philippines Commission on Human Rights lawyers to the public prosecutors for penal action.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 343. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) As regards the continuing investigations in various jurisdictions concerning trade unionists Roxas, Barros, Tullao, Peru, Alberio, Cubilla, Adriano, Sarias, Cueva, Alderite, Espirita and Roda, the Committee requests the Government to supply further information on developments in proceedings and copies of any decisions or judgements handed down.
   • (b) The Committee can only regret the tragic violence in Mendiola in February 1987 when government forces fired on demonstrators and expresses, once again, its belief that a climate of violence such as that surrounding the death of trade unionists constitutes a serious obstacle to the exercise of trade union rights.
   • (c) As regards four specific incidents occurring in 1988-89 on which the Government has supplied no new information or which, according to the Government, have been difficult to investigate (namely, the disappearance of Mr. B. Clutario, the trial of Mr. W. Orculla, police repression of the Laguna May Day 1988 gathering and the alleged torture of Mr. S. Sabidalas), the Committee requests the Government to renew its efforts to trace any detail that could help the Committee examine the alleged events in full knowledge of the facts.
   • (d) It also requests the Government to supply its comments on the nine specific incidents listed in the complainant's most recent allegations involving deaths or disappearances of unionists documented in 1989, as well as on the unfair labour practices during strike pickets in 1989.
   • (e) Given the ambiguity of the role of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units and the creation of yet another type of weapons-bearing subgroup known as "Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary" companies, the Committee again urges the Government to dismantle such groups.
   • (f) The Committee requests the Government to supply up-to-date figures on the number of human rights complaints filed with the various national-level monitoring bodies in the Philippines including data on those complaints rejected, investigated, settled or referred on to the courts for penal action.