Labor groups and international rights organizations strongly condemned the issuance of arrest warrants against Filipino labor leaders, describing it as an intensifying state campaign to criminalize dissent and suppress demands for economic justice. The warrants target Jerome Adonis, chairperson of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU); Jacq Ruiz, spokesperson of Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK); and James Anajao of Sandigan ng Manggagawa ng Quezon City.

Issued by Judge Bernadette A. Eugenio-Tumacder based on allegations by the Manila Police District, the warrants charge the leaders with violating Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code ("Tumults and Other Disturbances of Public Order") over a 30,000-strong Labor Day protest near the U.S. Embassy on May 1, 2026. Police attempted to arrest Adonis on August 13.

KMU denounced the court for acting without a preliminary investigation, denying respondents the chance to submit counter-affidavits. Renato Reyes Jr. of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan pointed out that the Office of the Prosecutor had previously dismissed the exact same public disturbance charges against Adonis, Anajao, and others for lack of evidence, opting instead to file a separate case under Batas Pambansa 880. Reyes questioned how police could locate respondents for one case while failing to notify them in another, calling it a "glaring weaponization of the law." He noted that the May 1 protest addressed the U.S. war on Iran, rising oil prices, and the economic burden on workers.

“Remarkably, the government timed the release of the warrant just as workers’ protests for a substantial wage increase are intensifying,” Adonis said, linking the legal persecution to broader demands for living wages, job security, and inflation relief.

Gabriela and KMU pointed out that the warrants fit a wider pattern of judicial harassment, citing violent dispersals during International Working Women’s Day, Labor Day, and President Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA). Gabriela stated that the regime responds to economic crisis and foreign subservience with "harassment, intimidation, and legal persecution," specifically calling out the targeting of Ruiz as reflecting a "macho-fascist character."

Internationally, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) joined the condemnation. ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy called the charges a "transparent abuse of power," asserting that weaponizing criminal law against peaceful assembly threatens basic union rights.

Despite the attempted arrests and legal pressure, labor organizers vowed to intensify their mobilizations for wage increases and national sovereignty. "The government cannot silence the voice of the people," Adonis declared. "Our demands are just. To fight for a living wage, secure jobs, and workers’ rights is just. To resist is just."