THE BPO Industry Employees Network (Bien) strongly condemns the illegal arrest of Mary Anne Krueger, 36, organizer of the Bien-Bacolod chapter at 9 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2019 after police raided the Gabriela office compound where Krueger and her family also reside.
Offices of trade union National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) and progressive party-list Bayan Muna in Bacolod City were raided almost at the same time on the basis of search warrants for firearms and ammunition issued by a Quezon City Municipal Trial Court. Michael dela Concepcion, Krueger’s partner and former Bien national coordinator was also named in the search warrant together with four others but were not present at the time of the raid.
About 60 other individuals, including leaders of NFSW and other civil society groups, were reported to have been arrested in the simultaneous raids.
Two .38 mm revolvers and several bullets were allegedly found in the Gabriela compound that led to Krueger’s arrest. Witnesses, however, attest that the firearms were planted by a non-uniformed man who went inside the Gabriela compound together with the police during the raid.
Krueger is being held at the Bata Police Station in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental and is facing charges of illegal possession of firearms.
Clearly, this is part of the Duterte government’s crackdown on unionists and activists. It follows a similar pattern of attacks wherein unionists, organizers and activists are arrested with the aid of faulty warrants and planting of evidence during raids.
Executive Orders 32 and 70, which put Negros and other islands in Central Philippines in de-facto martial law, are also culprits to these grave violations of civil liberties and relentless attacks on unionists and activists. Since Duterte came to power, Negros Island alone witnessed 85 victims of extra-judicial killings, mostly farm workers and their families who have been fighting for their land.
The arrest of Krueger and other unionists in Bacolod is a desperate tyrannical move of the Duterte government to silence groups that have been airing legitimate demands of the workers for secure jobs, higher wages and workers’ rights.
As an organizer of Bien-Bacolod, Krueger has been actively assisting and helping BPO workers in their campaign and legal battle against mandatory overtime. Krueger is also a community journalist and a member of the newly formed alternative media group in Bacolod. She is a mother of six children.
Bien demands the immediate release of Krueger and the dismissal of charges against her and other trade unionists and activists!