Senate union comes to the support of ‘COURAGE’

On Apr 5, 2021

A file photo of a protest action outside the Senate spearheaded by COURAGE (photo credit: bulatlat.com).

THE Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon (S.E.N.A.D.O.), the legitimate organization of rank-and-file employees in the Senate, has come to the help of its mother federation, which has been accused of being a front organization of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in the public sector.

In a statement last March 24, 2021, union president, Rosel Eugenio, said they also “condemn in the strongest possible terms the relentless attacks against progressive leaders and organizations, human rights defenders, lawyers, and recently, the unionists to silence critics and sow the seeds of fear to make them reluctant to voice their opinion and dissent.”

Eugenio also claimed that similar to other government unions affiliated with the ‘Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees’ (COURAGE) they have been receiving phone calls from unidentified persons asking for the names of their union officers.

Eugenio said they receive the first call on March 11, 2021, a day after the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued a memorandum to all its agencies asking for the names of union officials affiliated with COURAGE.

COURAGE, state security officials claim, is a front organization of the CPP tasked to organize employees in the public sector to its ultimate goal of bringing down the government by force.

“We denounce the DILG’s action of demonizing progressive unions affiliated with COURAGE,” Eugenio said.

“The DILG’s effort to encourage their employees who will be found members of COURAGE to disaffiliate is intended to besmirch progressive and nationalist unions that defend employees and people’s rights,” Eugenio declared.

The official also noted that “red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and accusing of critics being communist and terrorists by the state agents and law enforcement agencies have led to the arrest and detention of those critical to the administration due to trump up charges, and worst of all, the murder of innocent lives under the ‘Kill, kill, kill’ directive of no less than the President of the country.”

Already, the entire employees’ union of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had disaffiliated with COURAGE and some quarters in the national security apparatus are hoping that other government unions would follow its lead.