1 week Ago By Sun Star Davao Digital
A DAY before the first anniversary of labor group organizer William Lariosa's disappearance, progressive groups, including Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao Region (KMU-SMR), held a rally on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at Freedom Park, Davao City, demanding President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s accountability. KMU-SMR, Gabriela Youth Davao, Anak Bayan Southern Mindanao Region, Bayan Muna Partylist, and the Lariosa family call for his surfacing.
Veteran labor activist Lariosa went missing last April 10, 2024, and was last seen in Quezon, Bukidnon after he was allegedly abducted by suspected military agents. In his first year of disappearance, the family of Lariosa expressed deep emotions and still hopes for his surfacing. In a speech, Marklen Lariosa, William's son said “Isa ka tuig na ang nilabay ug isa ka tuig nga paghandum nga unta siya makita na ug amo nang makauban (A year has passed and a year of wishing we could see him and be with him).
" “Sakit pamalandungon nga isa ka tuig na apan nahimong ilap o idlas kanamo ang hustisya (It's painful to think that a year has passed but justice has become elusive to us)," he added. The progressive groups also demanded justice for the other enforced disappearance victims in the Philippines and called for government accountability. The rallyists also emphasized their call to stop red-tagging among labor union groups and to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
The groups will also conduct a massive rally on May 1, 2025, where they will intensify their call for an increase in the country’s minimum wage and other labor-related causes in honor of William Lariosa’s campaign. Danjelou E. Beringuel, HCDC Intern.
