Atty. Remigio D. Saladero Jr. is a well-known labor and human rights lawyer in the Philippines. He is the current legal counsel of the Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center and is also serving as the Chairperson of the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE), a law office providing pro-bono services to the marginalized section of society, including workers and urban poor. Aside from being a lawyer, Atty. Saladero Jr. also writes a his weekly column on PinoyWeekly.org, an online news outfit.
As a labor lawyer, he has provided services to workers from various enterprises, including that of San Miguel Corporation, Nestle-Cabuyao, Monterey, Shoe Mart, Philips Electronics, Dole Philippines, Philippine National Bank, Hacienda Luisita, Azucarera de Tarlac, ABS-CBN, Legend Hotel-Subic, Yokohama Tires, Robina Farms-Rizal, LRT, RFM, Swift, Cosmos Bottling Corporation and Sulpicio Lines. He is currently handling 700 various labor cases.
He was abducted on October 23, 2008 from his home in Antipolo by elements from Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). The abducting team later surfaced him and told his family and friends he was arrested for his supposed involvement in a Mrach 3, 2006 New Peoples Army ambush of police elements in Mindoro, Philippines.
From the very start, the abductors violated several procedures. They were carrying a defective arrest warrant - with his name mispelled and a a different address. He was held incommunicado for several hours before his family gained knowledge of his situation. Aside from the fact that Atty. Saladero Jr. is physically incapable of what they are accusing him. He has hypertension and suffering from various physical ailments. Since his incarceration, his existing medical condition has worsened.
This false accusation on Atty. Saladero Jr. is a clear effort of the present Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime to silence all his critics, especially the labor sector. The Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights Leila De Lima has noted that "this is a new strategy of attack" against the progressives in the Philippines. After the bloody rampage of the death squads in the Philippines, which has killed more than a thousand activists and ordinary citizens, the regime is now using fabricated cases against individuals, including Atty. Saladero Jr., in order to place them inside jails and silence them.
