Labor leader freed from jail after 3 years

After spending three years in jail, a militant labor leader was finally freed after a military "star" witness failed to identify him at a court hearing. Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) national council member Vincent Borja spent three years in detention since his arrest by the military on May 7, 2007. “It took more than three years before the military’s so-called star witness testified in court, only to say that he does not recognize Ka Bebot (Borja's nickname) and he was not involved in the crime he has supposed to have seen," KMU General Secretary Roger Soluta said in an article posted on Thursday on the KMU website. "The military has not just confirmed the innocence of Ka Bebot, but also their malicious intent to invent charges against progressive leaders to jail them and prevent their noble advocacies," he added. Borja, 41, started working as a bus conductor when he was still an elementary student. He became a worker of the Philippine National Oil Company-Leyte in 1994. He was a leader in the union when it launched a strike in October 2004. He was among those dismissed because of the strike. He has since become a full-time organizer of the KMU. The KMU said that at the time he was arrested, Borja represented Eastern Visayas in its national council, and was also Anakpawis coordinator for that region. His arrest stemmed from murder charges lodged against him by the military. “Our persistent protests and collective action all over the nation pressured the military and government to finally release Ka Bebot. We celebrate Ka Bebot’s release with joy that he can now serve the people outside jail, and with passion to further expose the military’s lies," Soluta said. However, the KMU said it still expects "heightened repression" against its ranks with the Supreme Court's recent affirmation of the legality of the Human Security Act (HSA). “The HSA will legitimize red-tagging and malicious interpretations of the military on critical actions against the government. The right to protest and to advocate genuine changes is still in danger under Aquino," Soluta said. KMU also denounced the Aquino administration’s continued implementation of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s "Oplan Bantay Laya" counter-insurgency program. Borja's arrest Borja was accused of murdering a certain Marianito Calibo, a military man, on July 8, 2006. Borja had just come from a whole-day caravan of Anakpawis Rep. Teodoro Casiño and other candidates in Ormoc on May 7, 2007 when he was arrested. At the time, he and other electoral coordinators in the region had settled in a house of a local official in Malinao village in Ormoc City. At about 9:00 p.m. on that day, 10 men in civilian clothes and armed with M-16 rifles and cal-.45 pistols allegedly barged into the house. The KMU alleged that outside the house were two 6-x-6 trucks, two vans, and several motorcycles with around 40 uniformed soldiers in full battle gear "wearing bonnets and without nameplates." The KMU claimed that the men were reportedly from the Army's 19th Infantry Battalion. At about midnight, Borja was brought to the Philippine National Police's Ormoc City jail. On the same day, a murder case was filed against him. He was later transferred to the Tacloban city jail. Asthma attacks KMU said Borja is suffering from asthma and had attacks every month since he was jailed. He has also lost considerable weight. "But despite this, Ka Bebot was able to lead a hunger strike in the Ormoc City Jail (in) August 2008 to protest the inadequate and indecent food served to the prisoners. The strike forced the jail administrators to serve inmates more decent food," it said. The KMU said Borja continued to educate and organize people behind bars and became a consultant of inmates and people who visit the jail. –VVP, GMANews.TV