CHR looking into violent dispersal at NutriAsia factory

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights has sent a team to look into the violent dispersal of strikers and supporters at a NutriAsia factory in Bulacan last Monday.

The strike was had been ongoing because of the condiment giant's refusal to regularize 80 workers as ordered by the Labor department earlier in July.

“[T]he Commission, through its office in Region III, has already dispatched a Quick Response Team to find out the truth behind the incident,” said the CHR in a statement.

Human rights group Karapatan and labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno, on Monday, said that police and NutriAsia security guards violently dispersed around 300 workers and their supporters after an ecumenical mass was held outside the factory in Marilao, Bulacan.

READ: Violent dispersal of NutriAsia workers draws wide condemnation

NutriAsia claimed in a statement that the violence started when someone “fired a shot” and “started to hurl rocks” from the side of the 200 workers of its toll packer B-Mirk on strikers and their supporters. 

Accounts from the ground, including those by student publications and alternative media organizations, do not support the claim.

The CHR pointed out that the workers, supporters, students, elderly and children were hurt in the incident, with some ending up behind bars. Two journalists covering the event were also hurt, and others were barred from visiting the detained.

A photo of an elderly woman —  identified in reports as 56-year-old Leticia Retiza — who was bleeding from the mouth has spread on social media since Monday, sparking strong condemnation from users and a call to boycott products from the condiment distributor.

“Unfortunately, all of this happened during a process of mediation being done by the Department of Labor and Employment with concerned stakeholders and the union organizer,” the CHR said.

The commission reminded police and security personnel to observe maximum tolerance since the workers have a right to protest. "We caution against the use of excessive force in ensuring peace and order," it said.

The commission, which has been painted by politicians and by government supporters as siding with criminals and the illegale drug trade, also said:  "At the same time, the rule of law must always prevail even in times of unrest. We, too, remind the protesters to not resort to violence and unlawful acts in asserting their rights."

Police, security guards file complaint

Bulacan police and security guards of NutriAsia have filed criminal complaints against 20 respondents that included workers, journalists and supporters of the protesting workers.

Of the named respondents in the case, a certain Edwin Barana was the only one presented as possessing four sachets of suspected shabu and one cal .22 revolver.

But reports from the ground said that Barana was neither a NutriAsia worker nor a supporter of the strike. Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng NutriAsia on a Facebook post said that Barana has been imprisoned since 2016. He was allegedly beaten up by cops to force him to pretend that he was joining the strike.

According to a report on alternative media website Bulatlat, Meycauayan City Prosecutor Frederick Malapit has ordered the release of the 19 detained after the dispersal..

Bulatlat reported that the charge of physical injuries has been dismissed while charges of alarm and scandal, and illegal assembly will need further investigation..

Speedy resolution needed

The CHR stressed that the incident stressed the significance of the government’s expedient resolution on workers’ plights.

Early in July, DOLE ordered NutriAsia to regularize 80 of its workers.

According to the department, its inspectors found that the company participates in labor-only contracting arrangement with AsiaPro Multi-Purpose Cooperative or AMPC.