Clash between protesters, cops at NutriAsia plant turns violent

Violence erupted at a rally at the NutriAsia plant in Marilao, Bulacan on Monday, with some 20 people arrested and at least 30 people from both sides hurt after the incident.

The clash happened at around 2:45 p.m. when guards began to hit protesters, who tried to barricade the road to prevent products from the plant from getting out.

The protest has been going on for the last two months.

In a statement, NutriAsia claimed that "violence erupted when a minority, around 200 striking workers of Toll Packer BMirk and their supporters, fired a shot in the air and started to hurl rocks at police and guards tasked to maintain peace and order in the area."

But Kilusang Mayo Uno said workers, with their family members including the elderly and children, had just held an ecumenical prayer service in support of the strike when "over 100 security forces, including at least 30 policemen, brutally broke up the picket line and dispersed the protesters."

According to police, one of those arrested was caught with a gun and sachets of shabu. KMU dismissed this as a “fascist tactic of planting fake evidence.”

Trending topic

A photo of an injured elderly woman made the rounds on social media following the incident, as the company trended on social media.

Alternative news outlet Altermidya also posted a photo of the ecumenical mass before the dispersal.

NutriAsia accused protesters of using the children and elderly as "frontliners and human shields" to barricade the plant.

The protest began on June 2 after 50 workers accused NutriAsia of illegal termination, claiming that the company violated a DOLE ruling that  victims of illegal labor-only contracting (LOC) schemes.

It was the second violent dispersal of the rally at NutriAsia. Last June 14, 17 were arrested while three policemen and several workers and their supporters were hurt.

NutriAsia placed the blame for the latest incident on the protesters and their sympathizers, who it claims violated an injunction issued by the Malolos Regional Trial Court on July 26 to desist from obstructing the roads at the company's facility.

But the KMU contended that the dispersal is illegal, saying the court has no jurisdiction over the dispute, which is supposedly only a matter for the Department of Labor and Employment, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, and the National Labor Relations Commission to resolve.

NUJP statement

Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said its members "were attacked, threatened and possibly apprehended" during coverage of the incident.

"We denounce the security personnel of NutriAsia for deliberately targeting journalists and the Bulacan police for failing to prevent or stop this outrage," it said.

The NUJP said Hiyas Saturay, Eric Tandoc, Avon Ang, and intern Psalty Caluz, a University of the Philippines student, from AlterMidya and Jon Angelo Bonifacio from UP-Diliman publication Scientia were among those detained. —JST, GMA News