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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Cabaero: Atlas saga
By Nini B. Cabaero
Beyond 30
The attempt on the life of labor leader Antonio Cuizon signals how the issues surrounding the fate of the once-prosperous Atlas mines in Toledo City are a mix of competing demands.
Cuizon, of the Panaghiusa sa mga Mamumuo sa Atlas or alliance of Atlas workers, was in his car when armed men fired at him in Sitio Gaway-gaway, Barangay Uling, Naga town. Although wounded, Cuizon was able to continue to Toledo City to seek police and medical assistance.
He had accused a rival labor leader at the Atlas mines of attempting to kill him but this charged was immediately denied. Investigators said they are looking at other angles, aside from the link to the Atlas labor conflict.
Whatever angle the police would pursue, it is a fact Cuizon emerged in the labor scene because of his work with former employees at the Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. in Toledo City. The Atlas mines during their peak played a huge role in boosting the local and national economy. The company had hired some 12,000 local workers whose financial powers made Toledo City what it is today.
Several communities were saddened and disgruntled when the mines closed shop in 1994. Government sectors have been pushing for the mines’ re-opening to bring the good old days back.
But there are concerns that remain unresolved. The salaries of some of the Atlas workers that have remained unpaid since the mines closed in 1994 represent one concern. This is where Cuizon and the person he is accusing of attempting to kill him enter the picture.
Another is the environmental damage that would take years to correct. That’s another complicated story. The Atlas saga continues and the ending is yet as blurry as the motives behind the attack on Cuizon.
* * *
My column last Sunday on “Quality OFWs” got a rejoinder from an overseas Filipino worker based in Italy. He gave his name in an e-mailed letter as Alwin Busay (alwinone@yahoo.com).
He said he used to be an engineer in one of the government’s “last respected agencies,” but he is working as a “kargador” or cargo handler in Italy. He said he feels insulted whenever he hears the “new heroes” label on Filipinos working abroad. The label, he said, was a “consuelo de bobo” for them for all the difficulties they had to undergo in the foreign land.
“If only those back home know of our dire situation,” he said.
Filipinos working in Italy are mostly domestic helpers, not the kind you will find in the United States or Canada. “If you’re a professional, better stay home than come to Italy” was his advice.
(October 18, 2005 issue)
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