KMU mourns death of militant labor leader

Militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) on Wednesday mourned the death of one of its officials, Leonardo “Ka Ben" Perez, who died of lung cancer in Marikina City on Tuesday night. In an entry on its website, the KMU said Perez, 59, left behind wife Lucy and four children. He will be laid to rest on July 3, Sunday. The KMU said Perez's remains lie at the family residence in Tumana village in Marikina City. His friends and comrades will hold a tribute for him at 6 p.m. Saturday. Perez was president of the Alliance of Nationalist and Genuine Labor Organizations or Anglo, KMU national council member, and vice-chairman of Anakpawis Partylist-Marikina when he died. "Ka Ben may be a joker but he is very serious in advancing the struggle for workers’ rights and social change. Like many genuine labor leaders, he has repeatedly shunned bribe offers made by capitalists who want him to betray workers fighting for their rights," the KMU said. The KMU said Perez, who came a poor peasant family in Nasugbu, Batangas, did not finish his elementary studies and took on many jobs to help meet his family’s needs. His political involvement began in the early 1980s as a bus driver and active unionist at JD Transit Inc., where he led in fighting and ousting the "management union." He was elected treasurer of the Bus Industry Alliance (BUSINA) in the late 1980s and led successful strikes against bus companies until the early 1990s. "Ka Ben was so poor, he would go to work and ply the Baclaran-Monumento route daily without leaving his family any money. He would only be able to send his family money by mid-day, using a trained pigeon to deliver a few hundred pesos," the KMU said. He then became a jeepney driver plying the UP-Katipunan route, and led the formation of the jeepney drivers’ association there and became its president. "One time, he and his co-drivers tied an abusive police officer to a lamp post for exacting kotong from them," the KMU said. Perez then worked for Living Art, a furniture company in Marikina City where he again formed a union. He led his co-workers in launching a strike in the company to protest supposed low wages and intolerable working conditions there. When Anglo president Wilson Baldonaza died in 2009, Perez became the group's leader and helped form Anakpawis Partylist’s chapter in Marikina, where he was elected vice-chairman. "Ka Ben was tireless in explaining his advocacy for workers’ rights and social change to his wife and children. Ka Lucy became very supportive of his activism and joined him in encouraging their children to join activist groups," the KMU said. - VVP, GMA News