Ana Luengo
España Centro-Sur

When I advocated for women workers’ issues, little did I know that justice work is very much like farming. In 1994, two of us young professed worked as volunteers to labor organizations in Taguig Metro Manila; and in 1997 I finally chose to work with Cebu Labor Education Advocacy and Research, a labor NGO in Metro Cebu, Philippines. Waiting for the resolution of workers’ cases during picket and strikes or giving moral support during a dialogue was for me part of my office responsibility and task. During those years I was detached from the depth of faith of the holy women and men I was with.

Now, my own experience as victim of unfair labor practice fighting for justice has revealed to me the deep secrets in the hearts of all the workers who journeyed with me in labor. On May 28, 2003 I filed a complaint against my former employer, an international educational institution in Cebu City and its superintendent for diminution of salaries and benefits. The Regional Office of the Department of Labor in Cebu City, Philippines conducted an inspection of the educational establishment and discovered the following violations on General Labor Standards:

• Diminution of benefits in the amount of PHP 114,108.00
  
• No registration
  
• No Safety Committee Organized
  
• No Safety Committee Reports
  
• No accident/illness reports submitted
  
• No Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI)
  On Sexual Harassment created
  
• No company policy on drug abus

I received legal advice and counsel from my father, Atty. Pacifico A. Villaluz, and went through the process of hearing, accompanied by my sister in community. I was offered an amicable settlement, which was 50% of my claims but I refused the offer because the issue at question was that the educational establishment and its superintendent violated Art.100 of the Philippine Labor Code, which prohibits diminution of benefits.

A Decision Order was made on November 19, 2003 to compensate me and submit the Occupational Safety and Health Standard Requirements within a ten-day (10) reglamentary period. The reglamentary period lapsed and I did not receive any information of the school’s action on the Decision Order.

On 26 December 2003, I filed a Motion for Execution of the Decision Order, and in March 2004 the Department of Labor in Cebu City sent a Sheriff to the subject institution to execute the Decision Order. I received my compensation on March 23, 2004.

Between May and November 2003 I went through a process of demoralization and a feeling of loss of self-confidence, a sense of loss of my dignity as person. I listened long and deep to that sense of dignity God has gifted me with. Where has it gone? Like Abraham I finally made a decision to move forward and started to walk on strange land. News of corruption in our government agencies and public offices often overshadowed the presence of hope. My community in Cebu repeatedly affirmed and supported me through our frequent singing of Psalm 95 and songs that proclaimed of God’s justice and righteousness at prayer time.

The whole experience was transformative in many ways. As I look back I have gathered spirit-led steps with significant friends:

• I listened to the Truth in my heart.
  
• I made a decision to fight for the Truth and claim God’s dignity in me.
  
• I faced the reality of filing documents and attending hearings.
  
• I waited for the Decision, and trusted in Hope – the purifying step

As a farmer waits in trust after soil-preparation and sowing time, I trusted that the God of Truth and Righteousness is alive and dwells in the hearts of the women and men of integrity in the Department of Labor.

• Through NETWORKING I have found new friendships that energized me and sustained my faith in the goodness of God.

Although the whole process was long and difficult, there were signs of hope and joy. Other victims of Unfair Labor Practice in the same institution came forth to support my case. I found new companions on the journey: the faculty organization of the institution; the former school administrator; my sisters in the District and the International Society; my family; my father, who was my legal counsel; and most touching of all were my old friends, the children-candle vendors, and their mothers, who accompanied me with their prayers, faith and hope. I felt that the joy and hope in my heart seemed like the joy of an expectant mother waiting for new life.

Like the widow who found support from neighbors to redeem her two sons from creditors (2 Kings 4:1-7), this was the time of new friendships and new relationships. A new community of faith was created among us, a community that proclaimed God as the God of justice, hope and true peace.

I have come to realize that the core foundation of justice work is truth, the seed of hope in each one of us. Proclaiming this truth nurtures God’s dignity in us and nourishes our faith. The decision to proclaim and stand up for truth provides the living water that gives birth to a new community of renewed faith. As our most respected Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. highlighted in his commencement address: “working for justice and peace may seem difficult but it is not, for as long as we hold the truth in our hearts and make a stand to proclaim it, God’s glory is proclaimed, and our task as followers of Christ is to proclaim God’s glory.”


Finally, we celebrate as community.

I invite all my sisters and brothers in the journey for justice to praise God for all the women and men of integrity, public servants in the Department of Labor and Employment in Cebu City who dedicate their time and talent for the protection of our workers. Let us sing with Mary in her Magnificat:

“ Holy is your name,
and your mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear you.
You have shown the power of your arm,
You have routed the proud hearted.
You have pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry you have filled with good things,
The rich you have sent empty away.”
(Luke 1:49-52)