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Suffer the Children

namasan2.jpgThe children of the striking workers of a banana plantation in Compostela Valley have endured the same hardships and abuse their parents went through. Many stopped going to school and, because nobody would care for them, were forced to join their parents at the picketline. Several were arrested and jailed. Some are no longer optimistic about their future. Davao Today staff writer Marilou M. Aguirre reports.

Related Stories: The Banana Plantations of Compostela: A History of Struggle | Banana Plantation Workers Struggle to Save Jobs | Comval Union Leader Fears for His Life | In Banana Plantations, Soldiers Bust Unions, Harass Workers | International Probers to Look Into Harassment of Workers in Davao?s Banana Plantations

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The Banana Plantations of Compostela: A History of Struggle

Export banana plantations began in Compostela, Compostela Valley Province, in 1992. The plantations are run as growerships, in which primarily small landowners (1.5 ? 16 hectares) enter into a contract with the company to provide a certain volume of bananas for a period of 20 years. When they began, Compostela?s plantations were operated by Standard Philippine Fruit Company, or Stanfilco, the banana division of Dole in the Philippines. Packing Plants 90, 92, 95, 98, and 99 are housed in Compostela.

The first unions were built in 1992. The workers of Packing Plants 90, 92, and 95 were members of unions under the yellow federation Alliance of Labor Unions (ALU), which was replaced by the National Federation of Labor in 2000. Packing Plant 99 had an independent, management union, while the workers of Packing Plant 98 were able to establish a genuine union led by Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in 1996.

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?To Rage with Heads Still Bowed in Prayer?

An IFI parishioner paying her respects to Ramento (davaotoday.com photo by Cheryll F. Fiel)The brutal murder of IFI Bishop Alberto Ramento has galvanized the resolve of the church?s priests and followers in Davao City, vowing to continue the pro-people struggles of a beloved man who devoted his life to the masses. Davao Today managing editor Cheryll D. Fiel reports.

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?Third Party? Bombings Meant to Sabotage Talks — MILF

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has appealed on the different sectors in Mindanao to be vigilant, as a ?third party? may sabotage the volatile situation in the southern Philippines due to the a breakdown of the peace negotiations between the front and the government. Davao Today’s Keith Bacongco reports.

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