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COF

In the Philippines, the day marks the celebration of Labor Day, a national holiday that honors workers allover the country. It is marked by parades and gatherings though more often than not, it is a time for airingthe grievances of the labor sector through rallies and demonstrations.Labor Day in the Philippines was first celebrated in 1903. Organized by the Union Obrero Democratica deFilipinas (UODF), more than a hundred thousand workers marched to Malacaang on May Day that yearto demand better working conditions.The demonstration alarmed the American colonial government. The Philippine Constabulary, composedof Americans and Filipinos, raided the printing press of UODF. They arrested its president, DominadorGomez, for illegal assembly and sedition.Undaunted, the labor movement continued its struggle. On May 1, 1913, Congreso Obrero de Filipinaswas organized. Led by Hermenegildo Cruz, it battled for an eight-hour working day, abolition of childlabor, just labor standards for women, and liability of capitalists.Throughout the years, the Philippine labor movement grew despite some factional differences among

adherents. There are now unions for almost every type of worker and these unions are affiliated withsome national confederations. The unions help workers gain more benefits under existing labor laws. Amilitant federation, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), even involves itself in political issues. All these makeslogans and streamers during May Day rallies more colorful and forceful.However, some May Day events can turn into riots. Just in recent history, it was also on the first day ofMay in 2001 when EDSA 3 or People Power 3 took place. It was the surprising uprising of themasathe supporters of impeached president Joseph Erap Estrada against newly installed presidentGloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was however more of a political revolt.

KAP

After UODF came the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas (COF) which was launched May 1, 1913.Among its prominent leaders ar Felipe Mendoza, Lope K. Santos, Crisanto Evangelista, andHermenegildo Cruz. The COF ushered in a new era of trade unionism where the unionsachieved relative stability and social legitimacy, heightened labor struggles and furtherexpansion of union membership.

COF finally broke up in 1929, giving birth to the Katipunan ng mga Anakpawis ng Pilipinas(KAP, or Proletarian Labor Congress of the Philippines) on May 12 on that same year. This new

federation would usher in the Philippine labor movements radical or leftist tradition, inspiredto a significant degree by the victory of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Among itsleaders, most were already converted to Marxism, include Crisanto Evangelista, Antonino Oraand Jacinto Manahan.

These KAP leaders would also lead the establishment on August 26, 1930 and the formallaunching on the following November 7 of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) as thelegal political arm of the workers.