Democrito T. Mendoza, Ernesto F. Herrera, and Roy V. Seneres
This is a sad year for labor. Three giants in the labor movement and in Philippine labor's struggles for social justice had been called by the Creator. Three great Visayans. Maybe the Lord is going to install a unified federation of all labor and trade unions in heaven. Attorney Democrito Tolo Mendoza was called by the Father last month. He was the founder and perhaps longest reigning (because he was never replaced by anyone else from beginning to end) President of the ALU or Associated Labor Unions-VIMCONTU (Visayas-Mindanao Confederation Of Trade Unions). He was also the founder of TUCP (Trade Union Congress of the Philippines) after the promulgation of the Labor Code in 1974.
Ernesto Falar Herrera was from Alegria, Cebu and from Bohol. He was a student of law in the Gullas Law School, and a student leader in the University of Visayas. Kito Mendoza, who was also an alumnus of UV, recruited Boy Herrera to the ALU and TUCP. Boy Herrera was the number one trusted man of Kito on the area of workers' education and on information and communication. Boy Herrera later brought in another UV alumnus, the late Glecerio Mamites "Cerge" Remonde from a mountain village in Argao. Cerge rose to prominence, like Boy Herrera, under the tutelage, sponsorship, and guardianship of Kito. Kito, Boy, Cerge, and this writer are all Visayanians.
When Ninoy Aquino was assassinated in 1983, President Marcos created an independent body who was tasked to investigate the circumstances of Ninoy's assassination. Marcos wanted a representative of the labor sector, and the only government-recognized labor federation was Kito Mendoza's TUCP. Marcos wanted Mendoza to be a member of that Commission, called the Agrava Commission (in honor of the Chairperson, Corazon Juliano Agrava). Mendoza did not want it. It was a no-win assignment. If they would convict the higher-ups in the military, Marcos would not accept the verdict. If they would acquit the suspects, the people would reject it. Mendoza would rather focus on the labor movement and not be distracted by such a controversy.
And so, Kito pushed Boy Herrera to represent the TUCP. Herrera accepted it and he was instrumental in the majority report of the commission that found the top generals responsible for the killing of Ninoy. The Chair, Justice Agrava, submitted her own minority report of one, whereby she indicted only the subordinate officers and men. The rest is history. The Filipino people revolted, and the EDSA Revolution changed the course of Philippine history. When President Cory Aquino took office, she picked Boy Herrera as one of her senatorial bets, and he made it. He was reelected but failed in two attempts to return to the Senate later. Boy authored many landmark amendments of the Labor Code.
Roy Villareal Seneres, a part Ilongo and who grew up in Mindanao, was not a labor leader but he had dedicated his whole life in the service of Philippine labor. We worked together as a Labor Arbiter and Labor Attache under the tutelage of our common mentor, the late doyen of Philippine and ILO labor administration, Blas Fajardo Ople of Hagonoy, Bulacan. Roy became a chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission. He also served as a Labor Attache in various posts, until President Erap Estrada appointed Ambassador to the Middle East, after he saved the life of Sarah Balabagan. Roy run for President and was accepted by the COMELEC. He withdrew last week, and on February 8, he passed away.
It is the greatest irony in life that the people we need most should be the one to leave ahead of all the thorns of human society, the burdens of the community and those who make others' lives miserable. Kito, Boy and Roy were still needed by the workers in this country. They were the genuine advocates for social change and for social justice. There are no more true union leaders left behind who can carry the torch for liberation and upliftment of the working class. We shall miss these three icons of the workers' struggle. Whatever differences and conflicts they had against each other before, will now be set aside.
The three of them, and Cerge Remonde, must now be holding a labor conference under the guidance of the Lord. What matters most is that we have learned from them and were all enriched by their virtues, principles, and values. And we should continue the struggle.
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