MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was given a pat on the back Saturday by the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) for its efforts to partner with unions in protecting of the Filipino worker.

The ALU hailed the AFP for collaborating with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), and labor and trade unions for holding a one-day landmark summit on the protection and promotion of workers’ rights last Thursday at the AFP Commissioned Officers Club (AFPCOC) in Camp Aguinaldo.

About 200 officers and representatives from the AFP, DoLE and labor and trade unions attended the summit.

“This is a serious paradigm shift for the AFP. Time has indeed changed and the ground had shifted and so we commend the military establishment for tapping the trade and labor unions collaboration in bringing about the winds of change,” said Gerard Seno, ALU national vice president.

Seno noted that the first-ever such summit was attended by the AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr., Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, International Labor Organization Manila Director Jeff Johnson, ILO Representative Karen Curtis, and lawyers from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

At the end of the summit, participants signed a manifesto that established the tripartite relations and called for a strengthened tripartite cooperation and collaboration among labor officials, military and unions.

“Our signature in the manifesto emphasizes ALU’s undying commitment to uphold the workers’ plight. The workers are partners and not the enemy of the soldiers in AFP’s bid to winning the peace,” said Michael Mendoza, ALU area vice president for Visayas.

Founded by dockworkers in 1954, the ALU maintains several federations along with other union workers in various industry sectors all over the country.

“The summit is so meaningful but for it to be successful, it requires an evolving interaction and fine tuning among stakeholders of the tri-party collaboration so that union actions and activities cannot be labelled as communist insurgents’ activities,” said Alan Tanjusay, ALU policy advocacy officer.

For his part, AFP Human Rights Office (AFPHRO) Chief Col. Domingo Tutaan, Jr. said the paradigm shift is in line with the military’s new tactic in fulfilling its mandate as protector of the people from “winning the war” to “winning the peace.”

During the summit, messages from the unions, CHR, DoLE, and ILO were delivered to educate the military about important provisions of the labor code and delved on topics ranging from actual union workers field experience, and workers’ rights are intrinsic to basic human rights.

It was followed by a workshop which focuses on the need for the AFP to fine-tune its response in dealing with union organizing, collective bargaining, and pickets or strikes.