Labor Leader Acquitted After Five Years in Jail

By Juliane Judilla

A veteran labor leader of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) in Northern Negros Occidental was acquitted of trumped-up charges after more than five years in detention on Feb. 27.

Gaspar Davao, 60, a resident of Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, was released from the Negros Occidental District Jail following his acquittal by the Cadiz City Regional Trial Court on charges of illegal possession of explosives.

Davao was arrested at a military checkpoint on June 9, 2020, in Barangay Caduhaan, Cadiz City.

Before his arrest, he had attended a meeting of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)-Negros in Bacolod City.

At the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns, authorities initially detained him for not wearing a face mask while riding a public utility van.

Shortly after, a hand grenade was allegedly found in his bag.

In March 2024, the Municipal Trial Court in Cities dismissed the charges against Davao related to the face mask violation.

Davao worked as a district organizer for NFSW’s Land Cultivation Areas (LCA) initiative in northern Negros.

The program secured over 3,000 hectares of land for farmers, mainly planted with rice and corn, providing food and support for thousands of peasant families in Negros during times of food inflation and tigkiriwi—a period of food insecurity during the off-milling season.

KAPATID, a support group for families and friends of political prisoners, welcomed Davao’s release but highlighted the continued plight of political prisoners in Negros Island.

“Even with Davao’s release, the newly created Negros Island Region (NIR) still has 111 political prisoners, including 16 women and one LGBTQ+ person.

This large number—which makes up 20% of the current national total—is mainly due to Duterte’s 2018 Memorandum Order 32, which placed the island in an undeclared martial law situation,” the group said.

According to KAPATID-Negros Occidental, Negros Island currently has 111 political prisoners, with 58 in Negros Occidental and 53 in Negros Oriental.