The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) condemns the killing of Alex Dolorosa, the paralegal officer of a business process outsourcing (BPO) union, BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN). Inflicted with multiple stab wounds, his body was found in Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City on 25 April 2023, three days after he was reported missing.

CHR Region VI has deployed a Quick Response Operation to aid in the pursuit of truth, parallel to our call for local authorities to increase their efforts in bringing the perpetrators to justice and uncovering the motives behind this act of violence.

We note that the local police is already exploring possible motives, including robbery and other reasons possibly driven by anger due to the inflicted injuries.

Workers’ organizations, however, allege that Dolorosa’s death is linked to his union work, in the context of attacks directed towards worker’s rights activists and union leaders in the Philippines. BIEN alleges that two of their group’s national members also face “trumped-up charges.” According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), Dolorosa had been helping out colleagues with four labor cases a few days before his violent death. HRW also underscored that Dolorasa was directly involved in advocacies for labor rights and that his organization had been subjected to surveillance and red-tagging, which they deem crucial factors to be considered in the investigation.

CHR similarly reiterates its call for the government to create stronger measures in upholding worker’s rights and union members in the country, by virtue of Article XIII, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution enshrining full protection to labour—local and overseas, organised and unorganised—as well as in line with the country’s commitment to several International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The workers’ right to organize and union member’s safety and security are especially crucial in the BPO sector, which is one of the country’s fastest growing industries, employing around 1.44 million Filipinos. According to an ILO research, despite receiving better financial compensation compared to workers of the same age in other industries, Filipino BPO employees (i) face high-stress work environments with detrimental impacts on health, (ii) experience gender disparities in which women are concentrated in low-skilled, low-payed jobs, and (iii) have virtually non-existent trade union activities. [1]

CHR is thus alarmed and compelled to act whenever there are cases of violence and death involving union leaders and workers as part of the country’s vulnerable sectors.

Any form of alleged attack on workers’ union officers and members must be sufficiently addressed before they lead to distrust and tension between workers, employers, and the government, and the further marginalization of a group responsible for much of the country’s economic growth and recovery. Once more, we underscore the importance of respecting and protecting the rights of all workers, including the right to form and join unions, free from any form of intimidation, harassment or violence. ###

[1] ILO Asia-Pacific Working Paper Series – Business Process Outsourcing in the Philippines: Challenges for Decent Work https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—asia/—ro-bangkok/—sro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_538193.pdf