26 October 2005 NOT AGAIN - ANOTHER PHILIPPINES TRADE UNIONIST MURDERED President Of Hacienda Luisita Union Shot Dead! In shocking news received by the CFMEU today, Ricardo Ramos, president of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU), was shot dead at around 9:30 pm yesterday, at his nipa hut in Barangay Mapalacsiao, Tarlac. Ramos was fatally shot in the head. His brain exploded due to the impact of the gunshot. Residents found bullet shells 20 meters away from where Ramos was sitting, thus coming up with an assumption that a sniper shot him. Ramos was reportedly with the tanods (village guards) of Barangay Mapalacsiao at his “bungkalan” (cultivation) area. He treated the tanods for a drink after they helped in the organized cash distribution of at least PhP 8 million awarded by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to the CATLU members. The sum served as management’s payment for CATLU members’ earned wages and benefits for the two-month period prior to the strike. The money was raised after the DOLE sheriff levied 8,000 bags of sugar locked up inside the sugar mill during the strike, as the Hacienda Luisita management refused to pay voluntarily. It was a partial victory for the workers of Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) who have been on strike for almost one year. CATLU, the 700-strong sugar mill workers union, is currently embroiled on a labour dispute with the Cojuangco clan who owns the vast 6,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita Inc. On Nov 6, 2005, it went on strike, simultaneous with the 5,000-strong United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU), the agricultural workers union in Hacienda Luisita, to protest the termination of 326 ULWU officers and members and to push their demands for higher wages and benefits. Ramos had been receiving constant death threats since the collective bargaining negotiations with the Hacienda Luisita management collapsed early this year. “Despite these threats, and the intensified military surveillance and harassment of the picket line and to its active leaders and members, Ka Ric feared no sacrifice and showed his unfailing commitment to his fellow strikers and their families. He was not cowed by the intense pressure and all the difficulties of leading the CATLU strike,” said Angie Ladera, Secretary General of the Workers Alliance of Region 3 (WAR 3)." The 45-year old Ramos is also the barangay chairman of Barangay Mapalacsiao, which is one of the 11 baranggays surrounding the Hacienda Luisita. Barangay Mapalacsiao is a firm supporter of the Hacienda Luisita strike. The Kilusang Mayo Uno strongly condemns this brutal killing and put the blame to the militarist tandem of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Jovito Palparan who continue to sow terror in Central Luzon. Likewise, it holds accountable the Cojuangco clan who will most benefit from this brutal murder. The Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime is cooperating with big capitalists and landlords in stifling the resistance of the people. It is sowing terror in order to kill the legal progressive movement that it deems a thorn on her neck,” said KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog. “If they think that they can make us cower in fear, they are wrong. This brutal murder will further inflame the people’s resistance. We will not take this vicious attack sitting down. We will continue to launch protest actions to condemn this treacherous and barbaric act” Ramos is the 15th victim of political killings in Central Luzon since Brigadier General Jovito “The Butcher” Palparan was stationed at the 7th Infantry Division in Tarlac. Ramos’ murder came two days after former Ford union leader and Bayan Muna Tarlac, Secretary General Florante Collantes, was buried. Since February, military detachments were installed in all 11 barangays of the hacienda. A battalion size military personnel is currently deployed in the area. These army personnel, all under the 7th Infantry Division, are from the 48th IB, 69th IB and 703rd ID. WAR3 said that it was public knowledge that the intensified military presence in the area is “specially requested” by the Cojuangco clan to “terrorize the people and to prevent them from joining and supporting the strike”. WHAT YOU CAN DO Please join us in protesting Ka Ric Ramos’ brutal murder and the intensified political killings in the country. Click here to take action NOW! [ more news ]