The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Labor Center assured today that Labor Day rallies will be peaceful and celebratory unless Manila Police District spokesperson Superintendent Rommel Miranda have other plans.

“Despite our growling stomachs, our families persistent cries of despair and our call for a substantial wage hike falling on deaf ears, workers and the poor of the Metro have more than enough reasons to celebrate May 1 in Liwasang Bonifacio. Unwanted situations will definitely not be come from us,” said Lito Ustarez, re-elected National Vice-Chairperson of the KMU.

“The past May Day celebrations have been generally peaceful due to the discipline we maintain in our ranks. Incidents of scuffles usually occur when armed elements of the police and military infiltrate our ranks and rally marshals are forced to weed them out to ensure the safety of our members. It is standard operating procedure (SOP) of the police and military to send their gun-carrying personnel and disrupt our protest rallies and the many arrest of these armed elements during rallies have proven this point,” said Ustarez.

“Among the many reason for us to celebrate is the consistent showing in election surveys of ANAKPAWIS partylist as the second most favored partylist after topnotch Bayan Muna. Notwithstanding that Honorable Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, Chairperson Emeritus of the KMU and ANAKPAWIS first nominee has remained illegally detained for more than a year now, the trust and support of the masses is crystal clear,” stated Ustarez.

According to Ustarez, the results of the Social Weather Station (SWS) and Pulse Asia surveys proves that the working people support the programs of ANAKPAWIS and are waiting eagerly for their representatives to file the Php 125 legislated wage hike once Congress resumes.

The labor leader also said that workers and labor activists from around the world will join the Filipino working-class and take part in the Labor Day celebrations here in the Philippines.

“On this historic day, Filipinos workers will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the working people of the world and highlight the greater solidarity in this era of tremendous attack on workers on all fronts by imperialist globalization. The ties that bind workers from different continents have been made stronger and the future of a strong international working-class movement is as bright as the sun in noontime,” said Ustarez.

KMU condemns attack on journalists

According to Ustarez, the recent murder of Mark Palacios, a radio reporter from Nueva Ecija and the attempted slay of Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) Southern Luzon correspondent Delfin Mallari Jr. are clear signs of the human rights situation going from worse to “hellish”. “Just last week two more activists were killed and another two were abducted. This regime is hell-bent on silencing all opposition to its rule and its armed attack dogs are more than willing to do the job. In spite of continued demands from local and international human rights group for a decisive end to the bloodbath, respect for human rights is just to alien a term for the Arroyo regime,” opined Ustarez.