Today, International Human Rights Day, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) reiterates our urgent call to the Ferdinand Marcos Jr government: free all political prisoners from the labor movement and all political prisoners in the country. Releasing the 18 labor activists is a major step forward for workers’ rights and for undoing the attacks carried out by the Rodrigo Duterte presidency.

There are currently 18 political prisoners from the labor movement: Romina Astudillo, Pauline Banjawan, Felixberto Consad, Mark Ryan Cruz, Maritess David, Joel Demate, Tess Dioquino, Jayme Gregorio, Benny Hilamon, Nedo Lagunias, Maoj Maga, Steve Mendoza, Jose Puansing, Nolan Ramos, Bob Reyes, Oliver Rosales, Adelberto Silva, and Marlon Torres.

Most of them are labor activists working with national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU, May First Movement), which is the main target of the government’s redtagging in the labor movement. Many face trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, and most were arrested and imprisoned under the Duterte presidency.

When Marcos Jr became president, there were more than 30 political prisoners from the labor movement. The number has been reduced to 18 after the courts junked the fake charges filed against the labor activists after years of court battles. A handful of the present political detainees were arrested under the Marcos Jr presidency.

One of the first to be arrested was KMU staff and Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) organizer Maoj Maga. Arrested in February 22, 2018, Maga has been in prison for almost eight years now. Maga has been an activist since his college days in the Polytechnic University of the Phiilippines and has never owned a gun.

Yet, the police claimed that they found a gun in his possession when he was arrested while playing basketball in San Mateo, Rizal. He suffered from a wrongful conviction on the case, which a higher court subsequently overturned. Worse, the police claimed that Maoj was arrested because of raids conducted by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao.

The case of Maoj illustrates the situation of most of the political prisoners from the labor movement. They are victims of the government’s counter-insurgency program that targets legal activists and organizations. They are victims of human rights violations that redound to violations of the rights of the workers and poor Filipinos whom they serve. They are victims of injustice in which state agents can easily manufacture trumped-up charges and the courts process these at a snail’s pace.

The Marcos Jr government is trying to project itself as a champion of democracy. Three years into his presidency, Marcos Jr has not yet undone the attacks carried out by Duterte. Workers’ labor and human rights are part of democracy, of efforts to ensure that workers have a voice in governance. The 18 political prisoners from the labor movement, and the total 696 political prisoners in the country, deserve the Marcos Jr government’s immediate attention. Free them all now!