THE Department of Justice (DOJ) will conduct a preliminary assessment on the killing of a union leader in Laguna last Sunday before the AO 35 Task Force decides whether to step into the case or not.
“Like what we did in the Calabarzon deaths, we’ll do a preliminary assessment first. If there’s any indication that (Dandy) Miguel’s death had something to do with his being a labor leader, the AO 35 committee will include his case for investigation,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.
Miguel, 35, was gunned down by a still unidentified assailant while on board a motorcycle in Barangay Canlubang. He died on the spot.
He was the vice chairperson of Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK-KMU), an almost four decades-old labor rights center based in Southern Tagalog.
Miguel was also the president of Lakas ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Fuji Electric-OLALIA-KMU and a national council member of Kilusang Mayo Uno.
The AO 35 Task Force is a special unit of the DOJ that conducts an investigation into politically-motivated killings or extrajudicial killings of members of civil society groups, political movements, people’s and non-government organizations, among others. By HECTOR LAWAS & GIL AMAN
