The Philippines will preside over the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva beginning April or May 2027, a significant multilateral responsibility that Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said Thursday makes it urgent to resolve longstanding complaints filed with the International Labor Organization (ILO) about suppression of labor rights, some of which date back to the 1980s.
Tolentino explained the details in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 10, describing the ILO presidency as both an honor and a pressure that has accelerated his efforts to address unresolved labor rights cases.
He said the Philippines has been one of the most active participants in the ILO, but that active participation comes with red flags, including complaints about harassment of labor leaders, deaths of union organizers, and the suppression of workers’ rights to form unions and enter collective bargaining agreements in previous decades.
“Have to be honest, matagal nang may human rights violations sa mga labor leaders at hindi pinapayagang mag-form ng unyon. These were concerns na iniakyat sa ILO at pinasasagot sa atin. Hindi naman sa panahon ko, kaya ang iba dekada na,” Tolentino said.
He said the ILO complaints are not merely symbolic, as non-compliance affects the Philippines’ trade privileges, including the GSP Plus tariff agreements with the European Union that benefit Philippine exporters.
Tolentino said he has already convened an Interagency Committee under Executive Order 23 to address the pending ILO cases, with the Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine National Police among the agencies represented, to provide updates and move toward logical conclusions on cases that have remained unresolved for years.
He said the goal is to arrive at the ILO presidency with as many resolved cases as possible, so the Philippines can chair the council from a position of credibility rather than defensiveness.
