The Commission notes the announcement of the government to accept the high-level tripartite mission by the International Labor Organization (ILO), which will be conducted in January 2023. We view this as an indication of the government’s willingness to address serious transgressions and gaps in the implementation of its obligations under the ILO Convention No. 87 or the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention.
It will be recalled that the call on the Philippine government to accept this mission came from the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards during the 108th Session of the International Labor Conference in June 2019 after noting “with concern the numerous allegations of murders of trade unionists and anti-union violence as well as the allegation regarding the lack of investigation in relation to these allegations.”[1]
The Commission has been monitoring and calling the attention of the government on similar allegations of violence and vilification of unionists. In our 2020 Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines, we noted with concern reports of how legitimate union activities were increasingly and dangerously clamped down, including by the former administration that reportedly resounded their hatred of unionism and blamed labor strikes for the closure of factories and the decline in foreign investments. We also received testimonies from credible sources about how labor leaders and organizers attempting to organize unions were subjected to surveillance activities, harassment, and intimidation, with some killed in the process. There were also allegations of militarization of workplaces becoming common in some areas of the country, with unionists being told to stop their activities and were forced to surrender as rebels.
The Commission stresses the importance of this mission in bringing justice to victims of violence against labor unionists, preventing the occurrence of human rights violations in the future by correcting the culture of impunity, and in promoting a society where the rights of workers to organize and form associations and unions will be fully respected and protected.
The Philippines ratified the ILO Convention No. 87 in December 1953. By ratifying this Convention, the Philippine government voluntarily committed to respecting and protecting the freedom of workers to form associations and to organize themselves, including by refraining from actions that would impede the legitimate exercise of these rights and by providing redress in cases where these rights are violated by public and private actors alike.
[1] 108th Session of the International Labor Conference, Provisional Record: Report of the Committee on the Application of Standards, 30 August 2019 (accessed 10 November 2022 ), page 77.