Protesters shout slogans during a rally outside a police and a military camp to protest the weekend killings of nine farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental in central Philippines which has a history of bloody land feuds Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 in Quezon City. (AP/Bullit Marquez-PhilStar)
Updated: December 5, 2018, 10:00 AM
Vancouver, B.C.
Condemn killings and a stop to military cooperation
By Ted Alcuitas
Update: A resolution to condemn the killings of nine farmers in the Philippines has been shelved, according to a source. The B.C. Federation of Labour ended its convention in Vancouver last week without debating the resolution proposed by the Vancouver District Labour Council.
An emergency resolution condemning the Duterte government for the killings of nine sugarcane farmers in Negros will be debated tomorrow (Friday) as the B.C. Federation of Labour ends its week-long convention in Vancouver, a source says.
The resolution is submitted by the Vancouver and District Labour Council and will ask the BC Feds to call for an independent investigation of the massacre believed to be perpetuated by a government-backed para-military group.
In addition, the resolution if approved, will call for a stop to all military cooperation including the sale of military hardware to the Philippine government.
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The BC Fed is the largest labour union in the province with 500,000 members including the Health Employees Union (HEU) with a large Filipino membership working in hospitals, care centres and other health facilities.
The Federation is a member of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and works with the CLC to further the interests of working people across the country.
Less than a month after the massacre, a prominent peoples’ lawyer was shot dead by unknown gunmen.
Atty. Benjamin Ramos was ambushed on November 2, 2018.