Remigio ‘Ming’ Saladero
Philippines
Remigio ‘Ming’ Saladero is a union lawyer, specialised in labour rights. He is also the chairman of the Pro Labour Legal Assistant Center (PLACE) and writes columns for a weekly journal. He has repeatedly spent time in jail because of his work, including in 2008, when L4L took part in the International Verification and Fact Finding mission in the Philippines. When L4L wanted to visit him in person, access was denied to the members of the delegation. In 2010 L4L finally spoke to him when he visited Amsterdam.
In October 2008, he was arrested in his own office by plainclothes police officers. They dragged him to a car, interrogated him and took him to the police’s head office. Saladero’s wife immediately raised the alarm and called friends who worked for the media. That night, reports on the kidnapping were already on TV. According to Saladero, the swiftness of the action probably saved his life, because it forced the police to admit he was in custody.
After his arrest, he heard that he, together with five others, was suspected of multiple killings and attempted killings on 5 March 2006. For this, he was jailed for three months in October 2008. Besiders that, he was, together with 26 others, suspected of arson and destruction of property on 2 August 2008.
He was released on 5 February 2009. Both charges were dismissed. Shortly after his release he was again charged twice. One of the charges was that he, together with 64 others, was suspected of having murdered Richard Garmino on 29 July 2008. This charge was dismissed.