Statement
August 16, 2026
“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) is very shocked at the attempted arrest yesterday of KMU Chairperson Jerome Adonis and the leader of the Women Workers’ Movement (KMK), Ms Jacq Ruiz, in relation to the May 1 march and rally held this year,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy.
A warrant had been issued alleging that these and other unionists had violated Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code. This provision, which allows for imprisonment and fines, relates to “tumult and other disturbances of public orders”. However May 1 is a public holiday, and a march and rally is a regular annual event in Manila and many other cities in the Philippines.
“This year there were about 30,000 participants, organised by four labor centers. It was remarkably incident-free,” said Murphy who participated in the event.
“Out of 30,000, just one person reportedly got into a shouting match with police, a person who, according to reports, habitually argues with police. Jerome Adonis was the overall coordinator of the march and rally and he, Jacq Ruiz and the others charged are not accused of personally doing anything disorderly, but are being charged for their association with the peaceful march and rally. This is a transparent abuse of power by the police,” said Murphy.
The political climate in the Philippines is volatile because President Marcos Jr promised on July 27 a P85 (USD1.38) per day increase in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region, but then immediately suspended its delivery. Workers were enraged, and KMU has led the subsequent protests. Adonis also attended the June International Labour Conference in Geneva to advocate for higher wages, job security and freedom of association for Filipino workers.
Adonis has also been prominent in the national uproar against the “Pax Silica” US military project in Central Luzon, which displaces farmers and indigenous people.
Adonis and many other labor leaders were threatened with arrest after the November 30, 2024, Bonifacio Day rally and march, despite Bonifacio Day also being a public holiday and a traditional day for worker rallies.
“These most recent threats of arrest of KMU leaders are a direct attack on the entire labor movement in the Philippines, negating the worker’s fundamental human rights, and continuing the deadly campaign by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to paint trade unionists as terrorists,” said Murphy.
“We call for these trumped up charges to be fully withdrawn, for the abolition of NTF-ELCAC and for an end to the deadly campaign of criminalising trade unions and their leaders for carrying out their lawful functions of organising trade unions, enabling collective bargaining with employers, and advocating for workers’ rights to government,” concluded Murphy.
