RP loses veteran labor leader, staunch Arroyo critic

QUEZON CITY, Philippines - From the parliament of the streets to the corridors of Congress, Crispin B. Beltran never gave up on his aim of promoting the interest of workers. The 75-year-old Beltran, born in Bacacay, Albay on January 7, 1933, was a long time trade unionist and chairman of the Kilusang Mayo Uno before he became representative of Anakpawis party-list. Beltran’s life was as challenging as the political struggles that he went through from the Marcos to the Arroyo administrations. He met his end on Tuesday, May 19. He succumbed to severe head injuries after a bad fall from the roof of his house in Bulacan province. Fellow leftist lawmaker Satur Ocampo said that he was once told by Beltran that he'd rather die in a protest-rally on the street, in the company of poor people who want change in the government. Beltran was a political detainee during Martial Law. He was again detained under the Arroyo administration for more than 15 months from March 2006 to July 2007 through a hospital arrest at the Philippine Heart Center. Beltran was arrested on Feb. 25, 2006, a day after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national emergency following a failed uprising against her government. He was nabbed on charges of rebellion, with authorities enforcing an arrest warrant issued in 1982. That rebellion case, stemming from protest actions over the Bataan Export Processing Zone, was dismissed in 1986. In June 2007, when he was granted temporary liberty, Beltran returned to the House of Representatives in a fighting mood. While at the plenary, Beltran, in a fiery privilege speech, assailed the Arroyo administration, and defended his right to speak against corruption, unmindful of his recurring heart problem, which often made his blood pressure shoot up. “I am innocent of the rebellion charge against me", Beltran said. “It’s neither a sin nor against the law to speak against graft and corruption and the killing of hundreds of innocent civilians." - AR Sabangan, GMANews.TV