24/10/2026
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ ๐ง๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒรฑ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ
On 24 October 1975, hundreds of workers at La Tondeรฑa Distillery stood together to demand fair treatment and secure employment under Martial Law. Led by Edgar Jopson and the Kaisahan ng Malayang Manggagawa, around 400 workers and 150 casual employees halted factory operations, demanding regular employment, protection from unjust dismissal, workersโ compensation, and benefits for women employees, including maternity leave.
The workers refused to back down despite military orders to leave the factory. Some were arrested the following morning, but the intervention of priests and nuns helped delay their arrests. Within two days, around 300 workers had gained regular employment statusโa significant victory for collective action under an authoritarian regime.
But the struggle came at a cost. On 3 November 1975, Presidential Decree No. 823 prohibited strikes and picketing, invoking the need to maintain industrial peace. The decree further restricted workersโ ability to organize and collectively assert their rights. Yet the spirit of solidarity endured, sustained by workers and allies who continued to speak out against injustice.
The La Tondeรฑa strike is an important part of our history of resistance. Remembering it means recognizing workersโ experiences of repression, honoring their courage, and acknowledging the role of religious and community allies who stood beside them. It also calls us to pursue transitional justice by preserving historical truth, recognizing those who resisted abuses, and addressing the inequalities that made workers vulnerable.
The struggle for justice includes every worker's right, regardless of gender or employment status, to fair treatment, dignity, and freedom from repression.
Sources:
HRVVMC, Essential Truths on Martial Law (1972โ1986): https://hrvvmc.gov.ph/hrvvmc-publications/
HRVVMC, โRemembering the La Tondeรฑa Distillery Strikeโ (27 October 2025):
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1341804207737178
Rosario Torres-Yu, Welgang Bayan: Empowering Labor Unions Against Poverty and Repression (De La Salle University Press, 2003
