David Borja was born in Iligan. His father was a retired soldier, a master sergeant in the Philippine Constabulary. He would talk proudly of his role in the combat team that contributed in the capture of Kamlon (a Tausug “rebel”) in the 1950s. His mother sewed clothes for a living.
David finished his vocational studies which landed him a job in Iligan Light and Power, Inc (ILPI). His first job was as meter reader, then as lead lineman after passing government tests for master electricians.
He got married when he was 20 years old, and he and wife Anita started to build a family early.
Iligan City is known as an industrial center in Southern Philippines. A good number of the local population are employed by the many factories operating in the city. One of these is the Iligan Light and Power Inc. (ILPI), which supplies the electric needs of the residents as well as the factories that make the city hum with industrial activity.
Although Manila was over a thousand kilometers north of Iligan, the dramatic series of events that shook the national capital in 1970, the First Quarter Storm, had an impact on Iligan City and on David. In the months following the FQS, a stream of students, fired up with the activist momentum of the times, left Manila for the provinces, to spread the message of their newly-acquired political awareness. They found fertile ground in Iligan.
David was already a family man when he met some of these activists. On many evenings he and fellow employees at Iligan Light had long discussions activists from the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK) about their rights as workers, the sad situation of local farmers, and about national issues affecting the people such as Marcos’ growing authoritarianism and the Philippine involvement in the US war in Vietnam. David participated in several protest actions called in the city.
When Marcos declared martial law in 1972, David was among the many hauled in to the military camp, and tortured while under investigation. He was detained for six months without charges, arrested again in 1974 and kept in prison over a year. When he was released he resumed working at Iligan Light. Undaunted by his past suffering in the hands of the military, he also resumed his organizing and union work. He was elected president of the Iligan Light Association of Workers (ILAW).
David’s brother Jaime recalled that during collective bargaining meetings with management, David was offered bribes. “Gusto mo ng kotse? magandang bahay?” but his response had been, “Yes, but if you give me a good home, you must give us all good homes!”
Because it was a regime of martial law, activists risked their lives all the time. David’s former comrades Francis Legazpi and Nick dela Cruz recalled the brutal treatment that activists in Iligan received at the time. “If they suspected you, they took you. If you we’re known to be a resident they would torture you but would spare you your life. If you weren’t an Iligan resident, they simply killed you.”
So David opened his house to people in the government’s crosshairs, blacklisted activists or those working underground, who needed a safe place to stay in the city. He even had some of them stay in the house of his father, a retired soldier who was quietly sympathetic to his activism. A number of activists who survived the dictatorship remembered David as someone who always welcomed them and offered to help despite the risks this meant to himself, his career, his family and his parents.
One activist who had moved to Iligan from Manila recalled his experience being hosted by David. “David’s house was small and clustered with other houses. Neighbors would easily notice strangers like us. So he took us to his parents’ more spacious house, and was also more secluded.”
Meanwhile, union organizing in Iligan was proceeding very fast. In 1980, some 30 unions came together to create the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Lanao (NAMALAN), with David elected as chair. NAMALAN was instrumental in the convening that same year of the bigger Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Mindanao (NAMAMIN), a Mindanao-wide alliance of around 200 unions, headed by Erasto “Nonoy” Librado.
Then also in 1980, NAMAMIN joined the Kilusang Mayo Uno, becoming its island chapter for Mindanao. Borja and his NAMALAN colleagues were at the KMU founding in Manila on May 1, 1980.
David was among those who helped set up the Center for Trade Union Movement in Mindanao (CENTRUM, replacing NAMAMIN) in 1982 to provide services to union workers and coordinate activities with other workers’ unions across Mindanao. Others involved in this effort were Nonoy Librado and youth activist Hernando Cortez (who was abducted and killed the following year).
David’s wife was also active in organizing women’s groups.
In 1983, Iligan as in other city centers across the country saw an explosion of protest in the aftermath of the assassination of Senator Ninoy Aquino. Under David’s leadership, Iligan’s unions became involved in various multi-sectoral groups, such as the Justice for Aquino Justice for All (JAJA), the Coalition for the Restoration of Democracy (CORD) and the Nationalist Alliance for Justice, Freedom and Democracy (NAJFD). Also under his leadership, workers’ groups supported the calls of the rest of the population for a stop to militarization, mass arrests and torture, and extrajudicial killings, among others.
In February 1, 1986, David’s own brother Pedro, also an activist, was killed. This did not weaken but in fact strengthened his resolve to fight for a return of freedom and democracy.
After the Marcos regime was defeated, David continued with his work as lead lineman as well as union president at Iligan Light. The union supported calls for the Aquino administration to release all political prisoners still in jail. He was also a member of the KMU national council. He held frequent dialogues with government officials and politicians promoting workers’ causes. He helped settle a workers’ strike at the city’s Gaisano Mall protesting against low wages. With David’s assistance, the workers were able to negotiate for better wages. David spoke out against state harassment of union members in Mindanao.
All this activism was not without personal cost. In July 1989, soldiers raided and searched his house, confiscating union pamphlets and pictures of union activities. He met with his death just months later.
According to a 1991 Amnesty International report, David was on board his motorcycle that morning in April 1990, when three armed men flagged him and peppered him with bullets. Anonymous sources pointed to soldiers based in Iligan as the perpetrators but no investigation was made of the murder.
News of his death shocked all of Iligan. People from all walks of life wanted to come to his wake, which lasted 15 days. Thousands attended his funeral. Before his burial, a tribute for him was organized in the Iligan plaza. On his tombstone his family had these words engraved: “They may seize my body but my principle, love and concern for the poor will endure.”
A former comrade Francis Legaspi said of David: “He was a good leader, a model leader. He led the actions here in Iligan. His involvement was whole-hearted, unlike others whose commitment was shallow. He was tireless. He kept himself grounded with the workers. Sometimes he would ask: how can our lives improve if the military prevents us from fighting for our rights? He wanted even the politicians in the city to understand and support the plight of its workers. It’s a pity his death had not been given justice.”
Joel Maglunsod, former labor undersecretary, considers David as one of the founders of trade unionism in Mindanao. “Workers have struggles in their work places but they also face other issues such as price increases, oil price increases. Unions must help workers understand and become involved in those social and political issues affecting them.” In Iligan, Maglunsod said, David helped bring the workers to political mobilizations, for example, to protest extrajudicial killings. He said that working in unions, such as David did, was very difficult and very dangerous, especially under the Marcos regime.
