BY  ROLI   G.  TALAMPAS

Americans took deep interest in
seamen's movement

WHAT was often missed was the Union de Obreros Estivadores de Filipinas (UOEF) which evolved from the crewmen of the steamer Correo de España who formed the Union de Estivadores headed by Mariano Ubaldo.

The UOEF exists to this day and has a number of local unions, notably the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) Transport and Shipping Corporation. Another affiliated union of the UOEF was the Bisig ng Pantalan of Esteban Repana.

In 1935, a craft guild known as the Philippine Marine Officers Guild (PMOG) entered the shipping scene. Thrown into the chaotic postwar economy and shipping, the PMOG developed into the biggest and most militant expression of marine officers’ organization  in the mid to the late '50s.

Last but not least was the International Marine Labor Union organized by Jacinto L. Salazar of the former Union de Marinos. According to those who met Salazar in his time, the latter also earned ill repute as a leader of “goons and scabs” in the Manila waterfront. One of these persons who saw Salazar in this light bequeathed a well-spring of information about another sea-men’s organization that spelled the major difference with all others in its time.

That Americans took deep interest in the seamen’s movement at the time is shown by their attempts at spying on these organizations. The historian Jim Richardson, now based in London,  provided this writer what he recently unearthed at the University of Michigan collection detailing a secret (and obviously concocted) report of one American government spy:

"Yesterday morning a meeting of all chiefs and officers organized by Marcelo Ayalde was held at the house of Marcelo Catdula, No.3 Calle A. Bonifacio, San Juan del Monte.  There were present seventy persons, all believers in the idea of revolution.  After lunch, a conference was held to discuss the best way to collect money to make up the amount invested by Ricarte in his newspaper.

"Modesto acted as chairman, and Francisco de Asis, an ex-Aglipayan priest, as secretary.  The last letter received by Modesto, alias Simoun Ibarra, was read aloud.  They were all convinced that the reason for the delay in starting the revolution was for want of a small sum of money.  Then Mr. Salazar, president of the Gremio de Marinos Mercantes, stated that he and his followers of that guild will collect money to send to Ricarte."  (Confidential Report from Agent “26”, dated Manila, June 2, 1913, in Confidential Reports of the Philippine Constabulary, Band-holtz Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.).

Meanwhile, Eugenio B. Man-reza, one of the last two surviving leaders of the Kaisahan ng mga Marino at Manggagawa sa Daungan ng Pilipinas, told this writer of the different orientation of the organization.

Under Japan

Japan invaded the Philippines, a US colonial possession, as soon as Pearl Harbor, a US military base, succumbed to the attack.

The Great East Asia Charter embodied the Japanese ambitions in the Pacific. It included “common prosperity and abolition of racial discrimination, promotion of intercourse, and opening up of resource” in order to contribute to the “progress of mankind.” The shortness of Japanese occupation proved unhelpful in the assessment of the net impact of these objectives of the Filipinos and in the Philippines.
     (To be continued)

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