Is it illegal for a labor activist to visit the Philippines?

The Philippine government yesterday deported a visiting Japanese activist who was supposed to join an annual international labor conference, with immigration authorities allegedly claiming that it was done on request of the Japanese embassy.

Kilusang Mayo Uno, which sponsors the annual event, reported the incident in this statement.

Nevertheless, the KMU’s public information department said that the 25th International Solidarity Affair (ISA) will continue as scheduled. Authorities have not been able to stop 43 foreign delegates from 16 countries who are now in the country to join ISA and the May 1 Labor Day rallies.

Now a KMU tradition, the ISA gathers the labor center’s friends from across the world in time for Labor Day.

In a separate statement, KMU said that workers will take on jJob security, wage hike, assistance for displaced workers, junking of ChaCha in rallies nationwide on May 1.