Labor leaders, police discuss arrangements for May 1 rally

MANILA, Philippines—Labor leaders and Manila police officials discussed the issues of traffic, infiltration and peace and order during a dialogue Friday on their preparations for a Labor Day rally next Wednesday when more than 50,000 workers and militants are expected to converge near Malacañang to demand the prioritization of workers’ issues on the national agenda.

Lito Ustarez, executive vice chair of Kilusang Mayo Uno, asked the police not to move into the ranks of the workers as they march from various points in Metro Manila to avoid violent confrontations. He assured the authorities that the marchers will keep a lane open to give way to vehicular traffic.

“Our marches are often infiltrated, thus  we carefully police our ranks so this won’t happen because this is how violence starts,” he said in Filipino during the dialogue at the Manila City Hall.

Senior Superintendent Robert Po, Manila Police District officer in charge, assured the workers that the police will not infiltrate the Labor Day march and maximum tolerance will be implemented to maintain peace and order.

“You can rely that no one in our ranks will attempt to do anything untoward,” Po said, adding that policemen know their own relatives are members of the working class.

Ustarez said the KMU was expecting that 30,000 members with meet at 9 a.m. at various assembly points—Welcome Rotonda, Blumentritt-Avenida, Buendia-Taft, Stop N’ Shop and Moriones, Tondo. By 11 a.m., they will march to Liwasang Bonifacio to hold a short program and then proceed to Mendiola in the afternoon.

Another 22,000 are expected to join the march of Nagkaisa, a broad coalition of labor groups, who will meet at 7 a.m. at various points along España Boulevard. Last year, 20,000 joined their march.

Meanwhile, a militant labor group slammed the May 1 job fairs announced by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz as a “gimmick to cover up the truth that the government is not doing anything significant to solve mass unemployment.”

Judy Miranda of the Partido ng Manggagawa said, “In the long term, the country needs an economic policy and plan that will result in the development of domestic labor-intensive agriculture and industry.”