Ten years after strike: Oil company workers in Leyte sentenced to prison

Ten years ago, workers of a government oil company in Leyte were alarmed over news that the company was being privatized. Time proved them right. After the new owners took over, however, the workers continued facing harassment. Why? After being privatized, the company’s work force is being contractualized, and the new owners are expecting another round of workers’ unrest.

New owners recycle rotten cases

Three workers of what was formerly known as the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) were sentenced to prison last Aug. 12, 2010. PNOC is currently called the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), now owned by the wealthy Lopez family, who also rule over Meralco and ABS-CBN. The workers were charged with grave coercion and malicious mischief in relation to a strike launched in 2000.

The case was filed ten years ago. There were originally 47 workers accused. Of these, 20 were leaders and 27 were members. The members were offered an amicable settlement while the leaders faced different forms of harassment. One of the leaders who were accused in the case is Vincent “Ka Bebot” Borja, who remains in jail for more than three years now for another fabricated case. 

The workers were not only terminated from work, they were denied their “savings” – one of the company’s scheme to cut a percentage from their wages.

They were also denied “clearance” from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), making it difficult for them to find employment elsewhere. One of those jailed said, “I have eight (8) children. I just want to find another work, but even that was made difficult. If I go to jail, what will happen to my family?”

The workers received a criminal sentence which means the imprisonment will last long, perhaps two years. They said their so-called offense should have been considered a labor case because the incident happened during a labor dispute.

The court papers reveal that the prosecution’s proof of the damage caused by grave coercion and malicious mischief is a broken signal light of a Toyota Land Cruiser owned by the company. The damage amounts to PhP 1,400.00 (about 30 US dollars). All witnesses to the case claim that the strikers broke the signal light. No other damage was reported, nor was there any other proof presented to back up the case. 

Violence from the military, not the workers

During the strike, the more than 100 workers present at the company gates were holding a prayer rally when military men, some of whom were riding a tank, surrounded the strikers. Together with the blue guards, the military men charged the strikers, beating up and firing at the latter.

Out of fear, some workers jumped off the cliff near the company gates. No one died during the violent dispersal, but many were severely injured.

The company denied the violence it inflicted during the dispersal operations. All cameras which the workers used for taking pictures were destroyed. When the workers filed a case, the medical reports which they attached to the complaint were later found missing. 

One worker who was severely beaten in his waist with a long firearm acquired a tumor that developed into cancer. This cancer took his life months ago.

Ten years after

The Lopezes, now the owners of the oil company, have decided to pursue the case. They offered to drop the charges if the workers surrender a case which they filed in the Supreme Court asking for a review of their case.

The workers believe they will win if their case will only be judged based on its merits. Last month, however, the Supreme Court refused the motion for review, saying there were no signatures affixed to the papers submitted. The workers cried foul over the technicality, saying they signed the papers and the Court was just looking for an alibi not to review the case.

Three workers who actively pursued the case and counseled the others to fight for their back wages are facing imprisonment any day now (10 to 15 days after the sentence). They were given an option to appeal for parole which will shorten their imprisonment based on their performance in jail. “If we go for that, we are admitting we committed the offense. But we are not guilty,” was their response.

Vincent “Ka Bebot” Borja, a leading organizer of the unions in PNOC and many other companies, is now spending his third year in jail. Due to several delaying tactics by the authorities, not one hearing took place after three years. Now, Borja’s co-workers are also facing a similar fate of political harassment.

The militant workers of Leyte are facing imprisonment for fighting for their rights. Workers throughout the country and abroad must speak up and defend them.#