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Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa
sa Timog
Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno
NEWS RELEASE
KMU-Southern Tagalog chairman shot dead
The chairman of the
militant Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog
Katagalugan (Solidarity of Workers in Southern
Tagalog), the regional chapter of Kilusang Mayo Uno
(May First Movement) in Southern Tagalog was shot dead by unidentified gunmen
in Barangay Paciano, Calamba City.
Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna, 51, was riding his
motorcycle on his way home from the Nestlé picketline
at around 6:15 pm when suspects shot him at close range in front of Sagara Factory in Canlubang. Fortuna was felled by 2 bullet shots on the
chest. He was rushed to the nearby
Fortuna is also the union president in
Nestle, which has been on strike for more than 3 years. He assumed union presidency right after then
president Meliton Roxas was
assassinated in front of the Nestlé gates in 1988.
Luz Baculo, secretary-general of PAMANTIK said, “The workers in
Southern Tagalog are outraged by the brutal killing of Chairman Fort
Fortuna. He is a well-respected labor
leader. No one will do such a horrendous
act against him except those who continue to trample on workers’ and human
rights.”
Aside from being
chairman of PAMANTIK-KMU and Nestlé union president of Union of Filipro Employees (UFE), Fortuna holds various
commitments. He is a member of the
National Council of the KMU. He is the
chairman of Alyansa ng Manggagawa sa
Probinsya ng Laguna
(Alliance of Workers in the
After Eddie Gumanoy and Eden Marcellana were
murdered in April 2003, Fortuna was third among the regional leaders in
Southern Tagalog who was murdered under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
administration.
“Aside
from the blood debts of the Swiss-owned Nestlé, the killing of Fortuna is
politically motivated. We are holding
responsible the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines
and their commander-in-chief Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,”
said Baculo.###