Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FirstRegular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3672

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Rep. Neti J.Colmenates, GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. Luz Hagan,
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. Antonio Tinio, GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. Emmi de Jesus,
ANAKPAWIS Rep. Fernando Hicap, BAYAN MUNA Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate and
KABATAAN Rep. Terry Ridon

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall afford full Protection to the rights of workers and
Peasants, particularly theis rights to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiation, and peaceful
concerted activities to enable them to pursue and Protect their legitimate and collective interests and
‘sspitstions (Article Tl, Section 18 and Article IIT, Section 8)

(ne of the more infamous examples of violent euppression of wotker
Hacienda Luisita massacre,

and peasants! rights was the

On November 16, 2004, dusing the violent dispersal ofthe Hacienda Luisita workers' picket, fourteen (14)
people were killed including two children aged 2 and 5 years old who doa of suffocation from teargas
lobbed by the police and army dispersal teams, At least 38 people sustained gunshot wounds, 133 were
arrested and detained and another hundred were wounded!

Comparing the scene to a war zone, eyewitnesses recounted that ptior to the carnage, elements of the
69"and 703"Infantey Battalions of the Philippine Army belonging to the Northern Luzon Command of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, together with ten (10) military trucks, three (3) armoted personnel
Gattiets, and several fire trucks, were deputized to enforce the Assumption of Jurisdiction by then Labor
Secretary Patricia Sto, ‘Tomas.


‘Then the melee erupted when the police dispersal team, supported by the army personnel broke the
workers’ picketline in front of the hacienda. The combined elements of hundreds of military and police
forces with high-powered firearms attacked the picketing workers and thousand of its supporters, As the
Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) rammed into the workers! barricade, the military and police repeatedly
used water cannons, high-powered rifles, truncheons and teargas to disperse the strikers and their
supporters and to eventually open the factory gates

Indeed, the scene was very horrifying, ‘The striking farmers and farm workers who were merely demanding
fo own a piece of land to till for a living were met by ruthless violence — and a hail of bullets ~ from the
police and the military.

Under Article VII, Section XVIII of the 1987 C nstitution, the President is the only official authorized to
call out units of the military but only in cases to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion
The Assumption of Jurisdiction and deputization of the military by former Labor Secretary Patricia Sto.
‘Tomas is a clear violation of the Constitution, as there are no provisions in the constitution that allow
assumption of jurisdiction or deputization of military units in times of agrarian or labor disputes

‘There was no ease of lawless violence, invasion or rebellion during the picket of Hacienda Luisita Workers;
this was a peaceful protest to insist fair distribution of land among the farmers and farm workers of
Hacienda Luisita, bur tumed violent due to the unlawful and unconstitutional deputization of military units
in the area,

Almost a decade has passed, and these farmers and farm workers still experience harassment from
clements of the military because of their continued conviction to own a piece of land, asi thet right.

‘These are sil happening under the administration of Pres. Benigno SimeonAquino III, who promised to
distribute the land fairly among the farmers and farm workers of Hacienda Luisita,

One lesson to be learned ftom the Hacienda Tausita massacre, as in several other similar cases, is that the
deployment of military forces in areas with labor and agrarian disputes is a majot clement in the heightened
violation of the workers’ and peasants! rights to life, self-organization and to concerted action.

Verily, the military are ill-equipped and have no role to take on law enforcement duties and functions,
Which isthe domain of the regular police force. In fact, owing to theit military training and orientation,
these military personnel consider the striking workers and peasants as their “enemies” who must be
suppressed or crushed,

This bill proposes to ban the deputization and deployment of any military unit in areas with impending or
cagoing labor or agrarian disputes. Tt seeks to enforce the rights of workers and peasants to self.
organization and concerted action and to check the continuing state-initiated violations of such rights

The immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Approved,


Hi Cc.
Rep. LU@VIMINDA C. ILAGAN
Gabriela Women’s Party

Rep. EMMI A. DE JESUS
Gabriela Women’s Party

,
ep. BR PED oy

Bayan Muna Party-List

aes hi PINIO

ACT Teacher'sParty-List

Rep. & ONAN Lech fb

Anakpawis Party-List

‘p. TERRY RIDON

KabataanParty List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FirstRegular Sc

HOUSE BILL NO,__“~ ‘

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Rep. Neti J.Colmenates, GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. Luz Magan, ACT
Teachers Party-List Rep. Antonio Tinio, GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. Emmi de Jesus,
ANAKPAWIS Rep. Fernando Hicap, BAYAN MUNA Rep. Catlos Isagani Zarate and
KABATAAN Rep. Terry Ridon

AN ACT.
PROHIBITING AND PENALIZING THE DEPUTIZATION
OF ANY UNIT OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES
AND / OR ANY OF ITS PARA-MILITARY GROUPS
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT DUTIES IN LABOR AND AGRARIAN DISPUTES

Be it enacted by the Senate and Flonse of Representatives ofthe Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. - Consistent with the principles enshrined in the 1987 Constitution,
itis hereby declared a policy of the State to afford fill protection to the sights of workers, farmers, and
farmworkers to enable them to pursue and protect their legitimate and collective interests and aspirations.

organization,

hall ensure that the workers

‘Towards this end, the
collective bargaining and negotiation, and peaceful concerted activities shall at all times be recognized and
ected when legal disputes arise from their democratic struggles to advance and/or defend theis social,
economic, cultural and political rights,

SECTION 2. Definitions,-

Agrarian Dispute refers to any legal controversy relating to tential ‘arrangements over lands devoted to
agriculture, including cisputes in negotiating, fixing, or changing the terms or conditions of such tenebal

arrangements, The term shall also include any controve
under RA 6657, and other terms and conditions of transfer of ownership from landowners to

y relating to compensation of lands acquired

farmworkers, tenants and other agrarian reform beneficiaries,


») Labor Dispute refers to any legal controversy between employers and employees that is related to
employment or to the terms of employment.

©) Deputization, as used in this Act, means the act of appointing any unit of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) or any unit of its paramilitary forces to take charge of law enforcement duties in the
areas with impending or existing labos or agrarian disputes,

SECTION 3. Prohibited Acts. -

#Bxcept for the President in instances where there is an urgent need to quell lawless violence, no person
shall order the deployment and/or deputization of any unit of the AFP or any unit of its paramilitary

forces for law enforcement duties in areas with impending or existing labor ot agrarian disputes

Any said order shall not be invoked as a justification for the deployment and/or deputization of military
and paramilitary troops in the areas mentioned in the preceding paragraph,

D)Judges and officers of quasi-judicial bodies involved in litigating labor and agrarian disputes shall not
deputize any unit of the AFP or any of its paramilitary forces to implement its orders, notices, and

decisions.
©)No officer and/or personnel of the AFP or any of its paramilitary forces shal escort individuals who
Seek to enter of leave the premises of an atea with labor of agrarian disputes

«)A complaint for the violation of this Act lodged with the Philippine National Police or any relevant
Sovernment investigating agency must be investigated by that agency. Any member of the PNP or other
relevant government inv on, refused or failed to investigate
the complaint lodged is also similarly liable,

igating agencies who, without any lawful

be

SECTION 4. Penalty, - Any person who violates any of the provisions of the preceding section s
Punished by imprisonment of three (3) years and a fine of One Hundred ‘Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000.00)

SECTION 5. Repealing Clause, - All previous or existing laws, decrees, executive orders, memorandum
Cieevlats, mules and regulations or parts theteof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed accordingly,

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. - If, for any season, any section or provision of this Act is declared
all and void, no other section, provision, or part theteof shal be affected and the same shall remain in fall
force and effect.

SECTION 7, Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect immediately after publication in a national
newspaper of general citculation,