A STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF A FELLOW PUBLIC SERVANT

Our Campaign

A STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF A FELLOW PUBLIC SERVANT

Submitted by courage_phil on Wed, 08/12/2009 - 09:00.

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We, the Social Welfare
Employees Association of the Philippines (SWEAP), representing the rank and
file employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
nationwide, wish to express our deep shock, sorrow and condemnation over the
violent killing of a fellow public servant, former DSWD Director Finardo G.
Cabilao, social welfare attaché at the Philippine
Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

We extend our sincerest and most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to his
wife, and his family; Director Cabilao has shown what it really means to serve
the Filipino people. We salute him as another
public servant hero and inspiration particularly for the social welfare and
development sector.

Before he died, Director Cabilao has been receiving death threats as he
struggled to protect our countrymen/women against sex trafficking. He even went
to the extent of giving up his diplomatic immunity to testify in a Malaysian
court just to do so. We believe he was murdered because of this.

We therefore call on our government, particularly our DSWD Secretary Esperanza
I. Cabral and former DSWD Secretary and now President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to take urgent and concrete steps to secure
justice for Director Cabilao and his bereaved family.

We also take this occasion to call for measures that would give greater
security and protection to public servants here
and abroad, particularly for social welfare and development workers who are
exposed to various hazards and dangers because of the nature of their work.

We share the position of
our national center, COURAGE, that what happened to Director Cabilao should
push our officials to review and ultimately junk its labor export policy.
Deploying attaché from various government agencies supposedly to assist our
migrant workers abroad is a mere face saving attempt to cover-up its failure to
provide domestic employment. Unless the government decisively abandon this
labor export policy, every single day meant exposing our migrant workers and
the public servants meant to help them to greater risks and vulnerability to be
exploited. Director Cabilao’s death should not become another number on the
growing list of our countrymen coming home in boxes.

Together with fellow public servants and social welfare development workers, we
cry:

JUSTICE FOR CABILAO, JUSTICE FOR ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS!

Contact persons:

Ramon Felipe Loza, SWEAP National President
Mobile Phone # 09209381014

Manuel R. Baclagon, SWEAP Secretariat Head
Mobile Phone # 09267125586