Partido ng Manggagawa [Labor Party-Philippines]
The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) welcomed the statements and recommendations
of UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston regarding the spate of political
killings in the country. Member of Parliament Rep. Renato Magtubo of PM
asserted that "Alston is like the innocent child who saw the truth that the
emperor was wearing no cloths while all the sycophants were applauding the
naked royalty.“”Alston’s statement that the military is in denial of killings that have
been convincingly attributed to it is true and his recommendation that a
serious investigation be conducted together with making public the Melo
Commission’s report is also correct," Magtubo added.
PM also stressed the serious point avowed by Alston that "the executive
branch, openly and enthusiastically aided by the military had been trying to
impede the work of the party-list groups and to put in question their right
to operate freely." Magtubo emphasized that such a statement is affirmation
of their belief that there is a government-sponsored plot to defeat militant
party-list groups such as PM in the coming elections.
Magtubo claimed that "The Gloria Arroyo government’s plot against militant
groups such as PM run the gamut from killings and harassment of leaders and
activists to swamping the party-list system with fake organizations in order
to raise the 2% threshold of votes needed to win. Even an outsider like
Alston is intelligent enough to discern the not-so-secret scheme versus
groups like PM.“He added that”Alston’s report will help in exposing the unabated killings
of trade union leaders and the appalling situation of labor rights in the
country." ###