Señeres, labor rights champion, dies; 68

‘VICTORY ENOUGH’ The adoption by the other presidential candidates of Rep. Roy Señeres’ advocacy is already a victory, says his son. INQUIRER PHOTO

IT WAS “victory enough,” according to his son, that other presidential aspirants were adopting his lifelong advocacy: the rights of Filipino workers here and abroad.

Three days after quitting the presidential race, OFW Family Club Rep. Roy Señeres Sr., champion of migrants and the Filipino working class, died of cardiopulmonary arrest on Monday morning after a prolonged bout with diabetes, his son said. He was 68.

Hans Christian Señeres said his father, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and former chair of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), had complained of exhaustion in recent weeks, prompting his hospitalization at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City and the subsequent withdrawal of his candidacy in the May 9 balloting.

But his death at 8:07 a.m. on Monday still came as a deep shock to the family.

“He went into cardiac arrest at 4 in the morning. Then we lost him at past 8,” he told the Inquirer on the phone. “It’s still just sinking in,” Christian said.

The party-list lawmaker left behind his wife and six children.

Señeres, who spent his first term in Congress advocating the welfare of OFW (overseas Filipino worker) families, career diplomats, poor workers and government employees, announced his candidacy in October as the standard-bearer of Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka.

His platform centered on labor and migrant rights and inclusive growth.

Income disparities

“He wanted to call attention to the fact that the Philippines has one of the biggest income disparities between the rich and the poor,” said Christian, a former youth representative of Buhay party-list group, who ran for senator in 2013.

“He wanted to do something about our workers who are exploited,” he said of his father.

In the past few months, Christian said the elder Señeres, a lawyer, seemed “happy” to listen to his rivals talk increasingly about labor issues on the campaign trail.

For instance, in November 2015, the candidate was pleased when Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte spoke out against labor “contractualization,” or the replacement of regular workers with employees on short-term contracts with lower pay or benefits.

“He was happy that some of the candidates seemed to have adopted his advocacy,” said the younger Señeres.

“He said he would be happy to withdraw as the other candidates championed his causes. He considered it victory enough to that extent,” he added.

In a statement on Friday explaining his decision to quit the presidential race, Señeres said he was advised by his doctor to avoid the rigors of the campaign.

“I [withdraw] with the blessings of my family and upon the recommendation of my doctor who has advised me to avoid stress due to my long-standing diabetes to prevent the complications thereof,” his statement read.

Labor rights fighter

Christian said his father had seemed quite vigorous when he first announced his candidacy. “He was healthy. He was totally active,” he recalled.

But in the months afterward, Señeres’ health began to fail him. “In my last conversation with him, he told me he was not feeling well,” his son said.

Señeres studied political science at University of Santo Tomas in 1967, and earned his law degree at San Beda College four years later.

His lifetime advocacy for labor rights began when he served as officer, in various capacities, at the Department of Labor and Employment from 1972 to 1975.

Later, he was appointed labor attache in the United Arab Emirates under the Fidel Ramos presidency, until he was transferred to Washington, DC, with the same post, in the early 1990s. Then he returned to the United Arab Emirates as ambassador, serving there until 1998.

Señeres headed the NLRC in 2000 under then President Joseph Estrada, until he quit in 2005, in the mass protests against the Arroyo administration.

As congressman, he authored at least 30 bills, many of which pushed for reforms to provide legal and health care assistance to migrant workers, including a proposal to establish “OFW family help desks” in all local government units.

His remains will be buried at Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

A great loss

Malacañang on Monday condoled with the Señeres family.

“We sympathize with his family. He was the lead advocate of the rights of workers as head of the NLRC and as Ambassador to the Middle East,” said Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

A senatorial candidate, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, said Señeres would be remembered for his compassion for the plight of workers.

“He is a man of strength and exemplary deeds. His passing is a great loss to Congress and to all the people who know him,” Romualdez said in a text message.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the Filipino labor sector lost a champion in Señeres.

“He is a great loss to our overseas Filipino workers’ community having spent most of his life in championing their concerns as well as those of the labor sector,” the Speaker said in a statement.

“On behalf of my colleagues at the House of Representatives and of my family, I extend my sympathy and prayers to Roy’s loved ones and offer our great respect and gratitude for his unwavering dedication and sincere service to our nation onto the very end,” Belmonte said.

“Roy was a colleague in the Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs with whom I worked very closely. He always had the best interests of our OFWs in mind as the representative of the OFW Family party-list,” said Walden Bello, an independent senatorial candidate. With reports from Maricar B. Brizuela and Gil C. Cabacungan