Philippines: Killings of Unionists Go Unchecked
Those killed had often been “red-tagged”—alleged to be members of the communist New People’s Army—before they were assaulted. Alex Dolorosa, an organizer of the outsourcing labor group BPO Industry Employee Network (BIEN), had been red-tagged, his colleagues said, before he was reported missing in Bacolod City on April 23. His body was found days later with multiple stab wounds.
Philippine authorities have long used red-tagging to harass activists, both within and outside of the labor movement. Recent research by Human Rights Watch shows that the police, military, and local government officials, rather than companies, are usually responsible for red-tagging unionists and workers. Red-tagging intimidates workers, discouraging them from joining unions, and makes unions less likely to join federations, especially those identified as leftist, such as the KMU. Harassment often increases during collective bargaining negotiations, union officials told Human Rights Watch.
Since the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict by then-president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, and an intensified counterinsurgency campaign to quash the 54-year-old communist insurgency, the red-tagging and harassment of unions have worsened.