NUJP, Kilusan hail Crispin 'Ka Bel' Beltran

MANILA, Philippines - Aside from being a fighter for laborers, the late Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran was also a friend of Filipino journalists. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said that as a union leader, Beltran stood by media workers on labor and welfare issues. "Mr. Beltran was a tireless leader, advocate and ally of workers, including those in mass media. He was a fighter for press freedom and the right to free expression. As a legislator, he supported bills seeking to advance the cause of freedom of information. As a union leader, he stood by media workers on labor and welfare issues, once even joining the union of defunct Manila Chronicle at the picketline when it went on strike," the NUJP said in a statement on its website. NUJP said it mourned the passage of Beltran, whom it said it will miss "both as a subject of our stories and as a friend of Filipino journalists." Beltran left behind 11 children, 29 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. For its part, the Kilusan website hailed Beltran as a "great labor leader, an incorruptible parliamentarian, staunch fighter for national freedom, democracy and international working class solidarity." It noted Beltran was to file a bill to remove the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) on electric power to lower the rates affecting his constituents. "We mourn with his family and friends, comrades and colleagues. Yet, in his passing, he left a distinctive and brilliant legacy of fighting for the interest of the workers and oppressed peoples," it said. It added that Beltran, having been an activist for over 50 long years, has the esteem of laborers, peasants, urban poor and other marginalized sectors. Kilusan said Beltran stood against the United States' "war of aggression on Iraq" and its "war on terror." It also said that he was also steadfast in his call for respect for national sovereignty and international unity against foreign intervention. The Kilusan website listed highlights of Beltran's life: * During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, at an early age, Ka Bel volunteered as a courier for the guerillas. After the war, he worked as a farm hand and janitor to support his studies. He then worked as a gasoline boy, messenger, bus driver and later on, a taxi driver. At age 20, he joined his fellow drivers in a strike against unfair labor practices. The police attacked their picket line, injured many and claimed the lives of three protesting workers. "Since then, Ka Bel vowed to fight alongside the working class," it said. * Beltran organized the Amalgamated Taxi Drivers Association, which he served as president from 1955 up to 1963. Together with Felixberto 'Ka Bert' Olalia and Feliciano Reyes, he organized the Confederation of Labor of the Philippines (CLP). He was CLP's Vice-President from 1963 to 1972. He also helped found the Philippine Workers Congress and other labor organizations such as KASAMA and PACMAP, which de facto asserted their recognition during Martial Law. * During Martial Law, he helped establish the Federation of Unions in Rizal and the Philippine Nationalist Labor Organization (PANALO) until KMU was founded in 1980. From 100,000, KMU's membership soared to 500,000 in the 1980s. The establishment of KMU united and strengthened the people in its fight against the late dictator, President Ferdinand Marcos. * When Marcos launched a crackdown in August 1982, Beltran was one of those arrested and detained. In November 1984, he escaped, and went back to organizing workers and peasants in the countryside. * When Ka Rolando "Lando" Olalia was brutally murdered in 1987, Beltran took over the presidency of KMU. He ran for senator under the banner of Partido ng Bayan that same year and garnered 1.52 million votes but lost due to massive "dagdag bawas" (ballot and vote switching) scheme of election fraud. He remained a leader of the militant union until March 2003. * Beltran also became a National Council Member of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in 1985 and served as its national chairperson from 1993 to 1999. He became the chairman of the International League for People's Struggles in 2002. He is also considered as one of the pillars of international working class solidarity in the era of globalization. * From February 2001 to November 2003, he served as vice president and was one of the three representatives of Bayan Muna party list to Congress, where he introduced legislations imbued with his high sense of patriotism and advocacy of the rights and welfare of the marginalized sectors. * In 2004, he became the representative for Anakpawis Partylist as a sectoral representative of workers, peasants, urban poor and other toiling masses. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism cited him having the most number of bills and resolutions filed in the 13th Congress with 130, and with a nearly perfect attendance before his arrest in February 2006. In his three-term stint in the Lower House, he won awards such as Filipino of the Year and Most Outstanding Congressman from 2002 to 2005. In 2006, he was adjudged part of the Congressional Hall of Fame. After his arrest and year-and-a-half long arbitrary and illegal detention initiated by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he was found innocent of rebellion charges. In October 2007, Beltran exposed bribery attempts by administration allies, particularly by KAMPI member Francis Ver. He said was offered P2 million in exchange for his support to the weak impeachment complaint against President Arroyo. - GMANews.TV