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KMU Chair Elmer Gong Labog at
Liwasang Bonifacio
Photo by Ron Villegas |
Photo by Ron Villegas |
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INTENSIFY THE STRUGGLES OF THE PROLETARIAT
AND PEOPLES AGAINST IMPERIALISM AND REACTION
Message of Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International League of Peoples' Struggle
1 May 2010
On this glorious day of the international
proletariat, we, the International League of Peoples' Struggle, join the
workers and peoples of the world in celebrating their struggles,
sacrifices and victories. It is of the greatest importance to raise the
banner of proletarian unity and struggle against exploitation and
oppression by imperialism and all reaction. Once again, we renew our
resolve to dismantle the monopoly capitalist system and replace it with a
just, democratic and peaceful new world in which socialism prevails.
Crisis of Global Capitalism Continues to Worsen
The enemies of the working class and the oppressed peoples do not cease to
demonstrate their contempt for the masses with their lies and their
violence. The mouthpieces of the monopoly bourgeoisie are busy proclaiming
the end of the global economic and financial crisis, and celebrating the
so-called beginnings of recovery. Not only is this claim of recovery
patently false, it actually signals a heightened offensive against the
workers and peoples of the world.
Bourgeois economists are prating about rising GDP figures, rallies in the
stock market, the "stabilization" of the financial system, increasing bank
profits and more business activity. In reality, the so-called recovery is
artificial and temporary as it is solely reliant on trillions of dollars
handed out by the state to the biggest banks and failing conglomerates as
bailout money. This is the largest-ever simultaneous raid of public
treasuries by the wealthiest stratum of the capitalist class which uses
the money to rake in more profits from speculative investments.
Conditions in the real economy remain grim, especially in terms of rising
unemployment and the dismal living conditions of the working masses. Tens
of millions have lost their jobs or livelihoods since 2008 when the worst
crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s erupted in the heartland of
the global capitalist system. Millions more have been kept employed but on
a part-time basis, with lower wages and ready to be axed at the bosses'
say so. In the US alone, millions of families are set to lose their homes
in the coming year. The monopoly bourgeoisie is seizing on mass
unemployment and profound social insecurity to cut costs, take back
hard-won workers' benefits and boost profits.
In the underdeveloped countries, the social consequences have been more
devastating to those economies most deeply penetrated by international
monopoly capital as foreign investments, credit, so-called aid, export
revenues and remittances have fallen along with the economies of the
advanced capitalist countries. Chronic economic depression is compounded
by the multiple crises generated by the monopoly capitalist system
including the food, water and ecological crises.
While the masses face a bleak future, the managers of finance oligarchy
responsible for the crisis continue to raise their share of the loot. The
top 25 managers of US hedge funds took home a record $25.33 billion in
2009 -- greater than the GDP of about 100 nations combined. They "earned"
these obscene sums not from production but from mere speculation,
specifically by correctly betting that the US government under Obama would
shore up Wall Street at virtually any cost.
Obama certainly did not disappoint his financiers. Not only has he
continued to funnel trillions to the finance sector, his administration
has also scuttled any attempt to apply restraints on the predatory
operations of finance capital, despite calls even from reform-minded
bourgeois economists. He is generating the biggest kind of bubble in the
form of public debt and is engaged in deficit spending that promotes
monopoly profit-taking but not employment and economic recovery.
He has also indulged the military-industrial complex with the biggest war
budget in US history since World War II, even adjusted for inflation. The
US is building more bases and upgrading its military facilities all over
the world to secure its control over strategic resources (such as oil and
gas in West and Central Asia, and West and Central Africa); encircle
potential rival powers, particularly China and Russia; and attack or
intervene in regions where US interests are being challenged (such as in
Latin America, Pakistan, Iran, and Korea.). It is also paying out billions
to US monopoly firms to supply and service US bases overseas and
"reconstruct" the civilian infrastructure destroyed by US invasions in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
All this generosity to the most parasitic and brutal fraction of the big
bourgeoisie has resulted in the rapid increase in public deficits and
debts in all the major economies. The Bank for International Settlements
estimates that the debt-to-GDP ratios of the G-7 countries are likely to
shoot up to between 150 and 300 percent within the next decade. Hence the
executives of the monopoly bourgeoisie are preparing a new assault on the
working masses in their own countries and against Third World peoples in
order to squeeze out more surplus value.
The Obama administration has for instance frozen discretionary social
spending, laid off thousands of teachers and public sector employees, and
is getting ready to further whittle down Medicare and Social Security.
Leaders of the Group of 20 are now talking about "deficit containment" and
"returning to a normal policy stance" even amidst an ocean of unemployed
and dispossessed masses. By this they mean withdrawing stimulus measures,
imposing fiscal austerity and new taxes in order to raise revenues needed
to cover the bailouts handed over to the finance oligarchy. This
translates to wholesale job cuts particularly in the public sector, and
slashing education, health, housing and other social and welfare programs.
This is what all this talk of "recovery" means for the working masses.
The International Monetary Fund is again stepping in to impose devastating
austerity measures and wage cuts not just in debt-stricken Third World
countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America but now also in Eastern Europe
and the less advanced capitalist countries such as Greece. In countries
that have managed to steer clear of the IMF by relying on private capital
markets, international finance capital still issues decrees through
ratings agencies such as Moody's and Standard and Poor. Countries that
refuse to reduce their fiscal deficits through cutbacks in social
services, lay-offs and more regressive taxes are punished by poor ratings
and higher interest rates.
Even then, there remains the threat of widespread defaults and financial
meltdown in the near future. In fact, these are inevitable because the
response of the ruling class to the crisis -- intensified exploitation of
the working masses, over-accumulation of capital, debt-driven spending,
and financialization -- actually aggravates the basic conditions which
lead to crises. The expected bursting of the public debt bubble will have
far worse consequences than the bursting of previous bubbles.
While continuing to rave about the free market masquerade of monopoly
capitalism, the US is now desperately carrying out a protectionist policy
and trying to reduce its external deficits through cutting imports and
more aggressive export promotion. Obama recently launched the National
Export Initiative which aims to double US exports in five years. The US
can therefore be expected to become even more aggressive in prying open
foreign markets, enforcing its "property rights" overseas while
restricting the entry of imports. This is sure to exacerbate trade
frictions between the US and its commercial competitors as well as
intensify inter-imperialist rivalry for plundering the Third World.
In the face of the economic crisis and challenges to its hegemony, US
imperialism is escalating militarism, state terrorism and wars of
aggression. The biggest armed conflicts and greatest instability are
happening in regions where US intervention is most extensive – West,
Central and South Asia, and West and Central Africa. These are also the
regions with the greatest concentration of strategic resources, foremost
of which is oil, the control of which is an explicit aim of US military
policy since the 1950s.
The US occupation of Iraq has entered its seventh year with no end in
sight, contrary to Obama's promise to end US combat mission in Iraq by
Aug. 31, 2010. The US is ramping up its war in Afghanistan by sending
30,000 additional troops plus tens of thousands of private contractors,
using the country as a laboratory for new US weaponry and combat tactics,
such as the use of drone attacks. It has entered into a new nuclear
agreement with India to support the latter's military upgrading and keep
the Pakistan-China alliance in check.
The US continues to use the US-Zionist alliance to terrorize the entire
Middle East and to seize the oil and other natural resources. US support
for Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people has resulted in the
most atrocious war crimes and human rights violations by Israeli Zionism
and in the humanitarian crisis such as that in Gaza.
In Africa, the US has fortified its military presence by creating the
African Command or Africom, and has increased arms sales, military aid and
training provided to a number of African countries, particularly in the
oil- and mineral-rich countries.
The US has also recently sealed a deal to use seven military bases in
Colombia for 10 years to use as its staging ground for intervention within
the country and expand its "expeditionary warfare capability" throughout
the region, particularly against "anti-US governments" identified by the
Pentagon such as Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia. In Honduras, the US-inspired
coup d'etat that deposed elected President Manuel Zelaya will mark its
one-year anniversary on June 28, 2010 as rumours of other possible coups
spread in Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela (and possibly in other countries
that have rejected the increasingly discredited Washington Consensus).
Hugo Chavez, in particular, is the object of vitriolic propaganda in the
monopoly capitalist media – which is possibly a precursor to and
justification for destabilization or even direct aggression against
Venezuela. Even the recent humanitarian disaster in Haiti is used by the
US to extend direct military control over the Haitian people and their
economy.
In the whole East Asia, the US continues to apply on China a policy of
engagement and containment and is increasingly exerting economic and
political pressures. It is exerting more of such pressures on Democratic
People's Republic of Korea. In the Philippines, the continued presence of
US troops and military facilities and the continued supply of military aid
underwrite the government's vicious counter-insurgency program which
targets both armed and unarmed civilians alike and props up the corrupt
and fascist puppet Arroyo government.
US military aggression and intervention throughout the world is resulting
in massive civilian deaths, destruction of vital infrastructure, trampling
of national cultures, pillaging of natural resources, massive displacement
and other gross human rights violations, spread of hunger and disease.
The Proletariat and Peoples of World Resist
The worsening conditions of global economic and financial crisis and the
escalation of imperialist plunder and wars of aggression are inciting the
proletariat and peoples of the world to wage various forms of struggle.
Workers of the world are confronted not only by individual capitalist
bosses extracting surplus value in particular workplaces. The monopoly
bourgeoisie is attacking the working masses by using the entire coercive
apparatus of the state in the imperialist countries and in the
imperialist- dominated countries. The workers and peoples of the world are
aware that they cannot simply bargain for higher wages and benefits. They
are desirous of wresting political power from their oppressors and use
state power to uphold their rights and interests.
In various countries, large-scale protests mainly against governments'
responses to the crisis are breaking out and catching international
attention. Greece was recently rocked and brought to a standstill by
strikes and other forms of actions that oppose government plans to cut
down on social spending and raise taxes to address foreign debt and
mounting deficit. Farmers' tractors were used to block roads; ferries were
left tied up at the ports; hospitals, schools and other public services
were shut down; and even news broadcasts were suspended as hundreds of
thousands joined militant protests. The workers and people of Greece are
saying "no" to government efforts to make them pay for decades of misuse
of government funds for political patronage, corruption and consumption
through debt financing.
In France, hundreds of thousands also joined protests against the Sarkozy
regime's plan to overhaul the national pension system by cutting pension
and raising the retirement age in an attempt to solve the country's
deficit. Organizers of the protests also raised demands for job security,
better working conditions and higher wages. In all countries of Europe,
especially in Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Greece and Spain, the level of
social discontent and protest is rising because of the increasing rate of
unemployment, the erosion of social benefits and the deterioration of
living conditions.
In the US, the workers and immigrants undertook strikes and protest
rallies. Hundreds of thousands of students and faculty launched protests
against cuts in the education budget and increases in tuition. They were
expressing outrage at the Obama regime's policy of bailing out banks and
huge corporations and of pouring money into the war in Iraq and
Afghanistan to the detriment of education and other social services.
Despite US imperialism' s sabotage attempts, the governments of Cuba,
Venezuela, Bolivia, and North Korea are vocal in asserting national
sovereignty and opposing imperialism' s dictates to their countries and
the world. Their popular leaders declare that their countries are waging
revolution for socialism. Their governments have been able to cushion the
worst effects of the current crisis on the workers and peoples, and have
even improved the standard of living in their respective countries. They
are now mobilizing workers and peoples to change the socio-economic
structures. Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia are active in encouraging their
fellow Latin American countries to enhance economic cooperation in that
region.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the armed resistance of the workers and peoples
against direct US colonial rule and for national liberation are dealing
severe military and political blows on the military might of US
imperialism. The imposition by force of US-backed puppet governments in
these countries has only intensified the workers and peoples' anger at US
imperialism.
The armed resistance in these countries is encouraging the American
workers and peoples' condemnation of their government's continuing war of
aggression. It is also showing to the workers and peoples of the world
that US military might can be resisted and put to shame, and that direct
US occupation and colonial rule must be opposed at all costs.
There are proletarian parties in Asia, Latin America and Asia that are
waging or are preparing to wage revolutionary armed struggle. The workers
and peoples of the Philippines, India, Turkey, Congo, Niger Delta, Peru
and Colombia are waging people's wars for national liberation and
democracy. They are persevering in the face of various campaigns of
suppression by regimes that are supported by US imperialism under the
pretext of the latter's so-called "global war on terror." In the
Philippines, the revolutionary movement is aiming for a qualitative leap
from strategic defensive to strategic stalemate in five years, by taking
advantage of the intensifying global and national crises and building on
current strengths and experiences.
In India and Nepal, revolutionary armed movements led by proletarian
revolutionary parties continue to advance with the support of the workers
and peoples in these countries. The revolutionary movement in India is
steadily gaining strength, forcing the prime minister to say that "We are
losing the war with the Maoists". After overthrowing the monarchy and
achieving great successes in the legal militant struggles and elections,
the revolutionary movement in Nepal is now gearing for the seizure of
state power to defend national independence and build socialism.
After two decades of blabbering about the "end of history," the
imperialists and their paid propagandists are being put to shame by the
perseverance of ordinary workers and people in revolutionary struggle in
order to collectively and militantly make history, and to put an end to
such a backward and moribund system as imperialism.
All the struggles of the workers and peoples against imperialism and
reaction are contributory to the relentless advance towards a new and
better world of national independence, democracy, development, social
justice and peace. We call on the workers and peoples of the world to
intensify their struggles against imperialist plunder and wars of
aggression and open the way to socialism! # |
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Photo by JMTaguiwalo |
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Photo by JMTaguiwalo |
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▲ Daughter of Gen. Danny
Lim delivers the message of her father who is running for senator //// |
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....and is greeted by the wife
of KMU Chair Bong Labog ▲ |
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Burning the effigy photos by Ron Villegas |
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Union leaders from various
countries show solidarity with the Kilusang Mayo
They came from Australia,
Canada, Denmark, Germany, HongKong, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and
South Korea
and displayed their own
banners calling for “Jobs for All, not Jobs for Profit” in their own
languages
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As May 1 protests ring across the nation:
Act on labor’s demands on Day 1, KMU tells next president
Date:
May One, 2010
Reference Person:
Elmer "Bong" Labog, KMU Chairperson
Contact information:
0908-163-6597 / 0919-416-3451
Tens of thousands of workers led by Kilusang Mayo Uno joined today’s
commemoration of the International Workers’ Day to send a strong message
to whoever wins the presidential race: act on labor’s demands on jobs,
wages and labor rights on Day 1.
“Gloria Arroyo would be leaving the ugliest labor situation in history –
two-year wage freeze, record unemployment, and countless violations of
labor rights. For the next administration to let Day 1 pass without
addressing our woes is like hinting another round of anti-labor rule,”
said KMU Chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog.
KMU said the next president should act on workers demands for the passage
of a substantial legislated wage hike, scrapping of contractualization
policies, junking of the Assumption of Jurisdiction power of the labor
secretary and for a regulation of oil prices and electricity charges.
The group also noted that such demands are within the backdrop of a
continuing labor unrest, which is the product of Arroyo’s willful neglect
of workers for nine years.
“On this very important day for workers of the country and the world, we
put forward these demands that are most important for all of us. We have
shown today our political will to push these demands beyond June 30.
Whoever assumes the highest post in the land should show some political
will as well,” Labog said.
The labor leader said only a substantial legislated wage hike can provide
immediate relief to the Filipino workers and people who are suffering from
hunger and poverty and are immersed in debt right now.
“The post-Arroyo government should scrap policies that legalize
contractualization of labor. There should be security of tenure for
Filipino workers. There should be equal pay for equal work,” said Labog.
“The Assumption of Jurisdiction power of the labor secretary should be
scrapped. We have seen the extreme consequence of this power – the
Hacienda Luisita massacre, which is the most brutal dispersal of workers’
strike in history,” Labog added.
Meanwhile, Anakpawis Rep. Joel Maglunsod said the country’s next leader
should scrutinize existing policies on electricty charges and oil pricing
at the minimum and should push for the scrapping of policies that cause
unabated hikes, particularly the Oil Deregulation Law and the Electric
Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). “Reversal of existing anti-people
policies is necessary.”
“The Arroyo regime has not lifted a finger to open the books of big
corporations which charge more than what they should. We hope that the
country’s next leader would put a stop to the profiteering schemes of
these greedy firms,” Maglunsod concluded. #
LABOR DAY 2010
Nationwide
protests to be led by KMU
and Anakpawis Partylist
Metro Manila
8 am
picket at SMX
Mall of Asia job fair, Pasay
9:30 am
unveiling of
Crispin Beltran’s bas relief at Plaza Miranda, Manila
10
am
assembly in four key
protest centers
> UST, España (main assembly point)
> Bumentritt cor. Sta. Cruz
> Quirino cor. Taft
> Plaza Moriones, Tondo
12 nn
march to
Liwasang Bonifacio
2 pm
arrival at
Liwasang Bonifacio;
2 – 5 pm
start of main
program
Highlights:
Burning of Arroyo effigy (Arroyo
behind bars, with crocodile body)
Presentation of the Agenda of the
Toiling Masses
Playback of Oust GMA jingles from 2001
Participation of labor leaders from
various countries
5 – 6 pm
march to
Mendiola
6 pm
lighting of a
thousand torches
6:30 – 8 pm
program finale in
Mendiola
For interviews:
Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU
Chairperson,
0908-163-6597
Media coordination: Wendell Gumban, KMU media liaison,
0919-416-3451
Main regional
protest centers
Baguio City | Tarlac |
Calamba | Davao City | Cebu City | General Santos City | Cagayan de Oro |
Tacloban City
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Visiting labor leaders from various
countries at the historic Mendiola Bridge. |
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NEWS RELEASE
30 April 2010
Nationwide Labor Day protests all set
Palace gimmicks on Labor Day won’t solve workers’ woes - KMU
Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said that nothing can prevent workers
from joining the nationwide Labor Day rallies tomorrow, especially as the
government obviously attempts to dilute the significance of Labor Day
through its mega-job fairs, holiday economics and non-wage benefits.
KMU chairperson Elmer Labog said workers are determined to raise their
urgent concerns tomorrow in the nationally-coordinated actions in the
National Capital Region and urban cities nationwide.
Meanwhile, in response to Malacanang’s granting of P200 million to the
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and other “labor groups” as
“assistance package,” Labog said the government bribed TUCP to keep its
mouth shut on the issue of workers’ wage increase.
“It is the TUCP leadership’s reward for conniving with Arroyo for nine
years. Now it is clear: the TUCP’s recent “struggle” for wage hike is
nothing but a battering ram for extracting a doleout from the government –
from taxpayers’ money, no less.”
“What these yellow leaders have done to Filipino workers is no less than
treachery. They rode on the clamor for wage increase in the name of
stuffing their pockets with millions while leaving the workers with
nothing. They and their corrupt deeds should be condemned,” said Labog.
Job fairytales and wage freeze
On the Department of Labor and Employment’s mega-job fairs tomorrow, Labog
said it only affirms the fact that Arroyo merely gave Filipinos job fairs
and not jobs. He said that the increasing number of attendees in job fairs
proves that these are a big failure. Many workers are already calling
these “job fairytales” or “joke fairs” because they fail to provide jobs
to the thousands who seek work.”
Workers are demanding for economic relief through actual wage hikes and
not non-wage benefits. In her remaining days in office, Arroyo persisted
to be averse to any wage increase for workers.
Labog said that while KMU also supports amendments to the antiquated Labor
Code, it does not agree with the Employers’ Confederation of the
Philippines (ECOP)’s proposals.
“The proposed amendments of ECOP will only make the Labor Code more of a
monster. These proposals – which include openly legalizing labor
contractualization and flexibilization schemes, repealing the prohibition
for night work for women, and greater leeway for employers to fix wage
levels during times of ‘economic difficulty’– will plunge the local labor
force deeper into poverty and hunger.
For interviews: Ka Bong Labog, 0908-163-6597
Media liaison officer: Wendell Gumban, 0919-416-3451
Download: Arroyo's
grim record on Labor
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Mendiola |
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KMP Rep. Joel Maglunsod |
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Salubungan at Liwasang
Bonifacio and Liwasan Scenes
Groups from various Metro Manila points
converge at Liawasang Bonifacio
Photos by JMTaguiwalo |
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IBON Features | May 2010
THE MAY 1, 2010 QUESTION: WHAT HOPE HAS LABOR IN THE 2010 POLLS?
Many hope that the elections will usher in reforms and alleviate the
worsening
plight of the Filipino people, including the country's 38.6-million labor
force.
IBON Features—Today's commemoration of Labor Day will be marked not only
by
workers' affirmation of a continuing struggle for their rights but also by
their participation in the coming May 2010 national elections. Like for
many,
this period symbolizes hope that the elections will usher in reforms and
alleviate the worsening plight of the Filipino people, including the
country's
38.6-million labor force.
The Filipino worker's misery has been worsened under the Arroyo
administration
due to job insecurity, measly wages, poor working conditions and attacks
on
workers' civil and political rights. Labor contractualization has become
legal
with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Order #18-02 of 2002,
wherein actual work term can be shortened than what is stated in the
contract.
The minimum wage has for a long time been pegged at a miserable low (P382
in
NCR) against government's own family living wage estimate (conservatively
at
P917 in NCR). Workers also continue to lament DOLE's Assumption of
Jurisdiction order which calls for government takeover management's
handling
of workers' strikes, which has led to violence and bloodshed in picket
lines.
The Arroyo administration has also vigorously encouraged Filipinos to work
abroad: 8.2 million overseas Filipinos have been recorded in 2008,
counting
4.3 million temporary workers and 3.8 million permanent residents, while
1.29
million more overseas Filipino workers [OFWs] - counting an average of
3,845
OFWs per day - were deployed abroad in 2009.
The country's unemployment rate has reached its worst nine-year sustained
high
of joblessness since 1956 at 11.2% counting 4.3 million Filipinos. The
employment figure of 35.1 million in 2009 attempts to conceal poor quality
of
work revealed in these figures: 4.2 million are unpaid family workers,
12.2
million are own account workers while 11.7 million wage and salary workers
are
without written contracts. Similarly, one out of three jobs are merely
part-time work, 6.6 million Filipinos are underemployed (employed but
still
looking for more work and income) and the number of working children aged
5-17
years old number 2.7 million.
Workers' demands and the presidentiables
This election season, workers' groups put forward their demands which they
call on candidates, especially the presidentiables, to squarely address:
just
wages, job opportunities and security, humane working conditions, a
reversal
of the labor export and labor contractualization policies and justice for
victims of union busting and repression. Change groups also urge
candidates to
make a stand on protecting the domestic industry by addressing working
people's issues. How do the presidentiables fare with regard to these
demands?
More concretely, how far has each gone to genuinely address workers’
issues?
Pro-labor platforms
In her platform, independent candidate Maria Ana Consuelo ‘Jamby’ Madrigal
states a comprehensive, pro-labor stand. According to her, a genuine and
pro-Filipino industrialization will ensure adequate and decently paying
jobs.
She also says that Filipino labor must be protected and nurtured through
living wages, regularization of work tenure, banning of contractualization
and
agency-hiring, and defense of migrant rights. Her platform fully supports
the
campaign for a nationwide P125 across-the-board daily hike in wages.
Like Madrigal, the platform of Bangon Pilipinas candidate Eduardo 'Eddie'
Villanueva boasts of support for labor and the local industry: shifting
the
direction of Philippine agriculture to producing finished products over
mere
raw materials and providing support for research and development for this
purpose; generation, growth and development of small and medium
enterprises;
development of skilled and smart labor by granting scholarships for poor
but
deserving youth; forging a strong and vibrant domestic economy by adopting
a
policy of 'self-help first before foreign aid'; and lifting tariffs and
duties
for equipment and technology to aid Filipino invention and production of
goods. He believes that the state should promote an environment where job
and
business opportunities will enable Filipinos to live decently.
Pronouncements
Most candidates' platforms support job opportunities, jobs security and
just
wages, such as that of Liberal Party's Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino, John
Carlos
'JC' Delos Reyes of Ang Kapatiran Party and independent candidate Nicanor
Jesus ‘Nick’ Perlas III. Creating jobs at home so that working abroad will
be
an option rather than a necessity and protection for overseas Filipino
workers
(OFWs) are also common in almost all of the presidentiables' platforms,
especially that of Aquino, Delos Reyes, Madrigal, Villanueva and
Bagumbayan
presidential candidate Richard ‘Dick’ Gordon.
However, Gordon contradicts his own pronouncement about OFWs with his plan
to
encourage migration into jobs and countries with higher potential for
skill-acquisition and to make OFWs global ambassadors for global expansion
and
tourism.
Meanwhile, Lakas-Kampi presidential candidate Gilberto ‘Gibo’ Teodoro Jr.
says
that there is a need for more job-creating opportunities especially in the
industry and services sectors. Manuel 'Manny' Villar of the Nacionalista
Party
further believes that a government stimulus package could address the
needs of
laborers and employees for a just and decent wage. However, both Teodoro
and
Villar say it is up to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC)
and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) to
handle
petitions for wage hikes. This is despite complaints from the labor sector
that these bodies are more inclined to favor employers rather the
interests of
employees.
On the issue of strengthening the domestic industry to ensure local job
creation, Aquino’s plan is a bit broad, saying he plans to “harness
homegrown
talents” for economic growth. Meanwhile, Gordon’s plan does not veer much
from
the past administrations’ strategy, saying he plans to turn Luzon into an
investment hub with industries relocation, infrastructure building,
seaports,
airports and super-highways. He also plans to turn Visayas and Mindanao
into
tourism, agriculture and aquaculture centers. Former president Joseph 'Erap'
Estrada, meanwhile, believes that economic growth should be spurred by
strengthening the domestic economy especially in the field of agriculture.
Delos Reyes plans to generate jobs by allowing small and medium
enterprises
(SMEs), including cooperatives, to thrive without corruption and with tax
exemptions for small businesses.
Villar's platform particularly states that the key to economic growth,
aside
from agricultural development, is the promotion of a viable manufacturing
sector. He says that government must fully support the development of
local
industries, including SMEs, through subsidies and tax relief for Filipino
industrialists.
On the other hand, the prospect for strengthening the domestic economy
dims in
Teodoro's plan to allow foreigners to fully own lands for commercial and
industrial purposes. Also instead of building the domestic industry with
local
resources and capacity, Teodoro's vision is similar to those of past
administrations that highly relied on attracting foreign investments.
Weak track records
In terms of promoting workers' interests, the track record so far of Delos
Reyes, Teodoro and Villanueva are lacking. Meanwhile, the track record of
the
rest of the candidates serves as a better gauge of how genuine their
support
for labor is compared to their promises.
As senator, Noynoy Aquino authored the Productivity Incentives Act that
grants
annual productivity incentives to all private sector workers and increases
penalties for non-compliance to “prescribed increases and adjustments in
the
wage rates of workers.” However, all of Aquino's positive written and
spoken
notes on jobs and wages are offset by his long-time tolerance of unfair
labor
practice and unjust workers' wages as part owner of Hacienda Luisita. He
has
also not expressed explicit support for a P125 across-the-board wage
increase.
Under the Estrada presidency, unemployment rate rose to 11.2% in 2000 from
10.3% in 1998, which saw 416,000 more jobless Filipinos. Livelihood and
employment, which were among the flagship programs of the then National
Anti-Poverty Commission, never inched forward due to lack of funds.
Instead,
labor export and contractualization flourished. Major strikes were also
violently dispersed, such as those by the workers of the Philippine Air
Lines,
Light Rail Transit and the Manila Hotel. Estrada also ignored calls for
minimum wage increases for fear of “scaring away investors” and taking
away
the country's comparative advantage in labor costs.
Like Teodoro, former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SMBA) chairperson
Gordon's idea of building the local industry to create jobs is not through
boosting the capacity of the local manufacturing industry but through
tourism
and attracting foreign investments. For example in 1996, years after the
removal of the US military bases, there was an influx of foreign blue-chip
companies in Subic after he aggressively promoted the SBMA to foreign
investors.
Through her foundations, Madrigal says she has sponsored livelihood
programs
particularly for women workers. For example, through her Abad Santos
Madrigal
Foundation, a Basic Reflexology Training Program was able to train more
than
10,000 reflexology therapists nationwide. Meanwhile, Perlas says he has
helped
with poverty reduction and job creation in over 230,000 micro-finance
partners
throughout the country as a former bank officer.
As a legislator for several years, Villar authored several bills
pertaining to
the development of local SMEs and the promotion of working people's
rights.
Some tackled the establishment of an SME stock exchange and regional and
provincial business one-stop shop centers for these; development of and
assistance for micro and cottage industries; job training programs for
mature
or older workers; and the further development of Filipino seafarers
through
information and technology.
Beyond elections
After May 10, Filipinos have yet to wait and see if the winning candidates
have enough political will in pushing for the genuine upliftment of
workers
and the domestic industry. This is especially since history has proven
that
elections have not been the perfect vehicle for even alleviating the
plight of
Filipino workers, moreso if compared with the workers' vigilance in
tirelessly, constantly and creatively echoing their demands and working
determinedly to address them. IBON Features
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NEWS:
May 01, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reference:
Rep. Raymond Palatino, 09085927099
Gerg Anrol Cahiles, Media Officer, 09273670948
On Labor Day
Clear platform on jobs for 550,000 new graduates sought from presidential
bets
Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino today urged
presidential candidates to provide a clear and categorical platform on how
to resolve the rising unemployment rate as 550,000 new graduates are
expected to enter the work force this summer.
“We fear that most of our new graduates will be joining the 3 million
jobless Filipinos if the next government does not make decisive moves to
create decent jobs.”
Palatino said that their group is posing the challenge to the next
government because they have long given up on the Arroyo administration.
“For the last nine years our new graduates have been promised at least one
million jobs every year but we have not seen a significant rise in
employment. All statistics depicting an improvement in our employment rate
are either misleading or short-lived,” he said.
Palatino stressed that even the most popular jobs offered by business
process outsourcing (BPO) companies are limited and cannot accommodate new
graduates. New college degree holders will be competing for 50,000 jobs
offered by BPO companies, he added.
The youth solon said that presidentiables should include in their
legislative agenda the provision of decent jobs in the country instead of
carrying on with Arroyo’s labor export policy.
“The only option left for our new graduates is to leave the country and
work abroad in professions that have little or nothing to do with their
degrees. This is the sad reality in the employment crisis, our bright and
competitive graduates are being pushed to go abroad when they can do so
much more for the country.”
He cited recent National Statistics Office (NSO) data showing that most
jobless Filipinos are from the 15-24 age group.
“This is high time for the presidential bets to show the youth that they
are determined to alleviate unemployment and poverty in the Philippines,”
Palatino said.
BPO entrance exams to raise unemployment among new grads
Palatino also hit the mandatory entrance examination for wannabe BPO
workers saying that it would only worsen the unemployment situation.
“BPOs are now even implementing a standardized competency exam to
streamline the recruitment of their applicants so we expect a lesser
number of new graduates being hired.”
He said that in the guise of “improving the quality of the BPO sector,”
the government, hand in hand with BPOs are further narrowing down the
prospects of employment for new graduates.
“This is supposed to be our ’sunshine industry’? We see no light shining
for our new graduates if they continue to push through with these exams,”
he said.
The youth solon said that the P500 examination fee will also further
discourage job seekers. ###
-
Office of Rep. Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino
Temporary Office at 3rd Floor, Main Building
House of Representatives, Batasan Complex, Quezon City
Reference:
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino
Mobile: 09085927099
Email: cong.mongpalatino@gmail.com
Gerg Anrol Cahiles, Media Officer
Mobile: 09273670948 |
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PAGGUNITA,
PAGLABAN, AT PAGBABAGO
Pahayag
ng CONTEND para sa Internasyunal na Araw ng Paggawa
1 Mayo
2010
Habang
ipinagdiriwang ng mga manggagawa sa iba’t ibang sulok ng mundo ang
Internasyunal na Araw ng Paggawa, pinili naman ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
na maliitin ito sa pamamagitan ng paglipat sa araw ng paggunita mula Mayo
Uno papuntang Mayo 3. Bilang bahagi ng tinaguriang ‘holiday economics’ ni
Arroyo, nilalayon nitong mahikayat ang mga tao tungo sa mas mataas na
pagkonsumo dahil sa ‘long weekend’. Naglulunsad rin ng mega-job fairs
upang ilayo ang laksa-laksang mga Pilipino walang hanapbuhay mula sa
pag-martsa sa lansangan.
Ngunit
taliwas sa nais ng rehimeng Arroyo, Ipinapakita lamang daan-daan-libong
sumusugod sa mga job fairs na ito kung gaano kalaganap ang kawalan ng
kabuhayan sa bansa – sa laksa-laksang nagbabakasakali, marami ang bigong
makahanap ng trabaho na akma sa limitadong kakayahang napulot mula sa
komersyalisadong sistema ng edukasyon sa bansa. At paano nga ba
makikibahagi ang uring manggagawa sa ipinagmamalaking ‘holiday economics’
ni Arroyo, kung ang kalakhan ng mamamayan ay hindi sapat ang kinikita para
buhayin ang kanilang mga pamilya.
Ang kawalan
ng respeto ni Arroyo sa historikal na kahalagahan ng Araw ng Paggawa ay
repleksyon lamang ng mas malawakang paglalapastangan ng kanyang rehimen sa
mga manggagawang Pilipino. Ayon sa National Wages and Productivity
Commision, kailangan ng P920 bawat araw ng isang pamilyang may anim na
miyembro. Malayung-malayo sa kasalukuyang minimum wage na P380. Sa
pamamagitan naman ng Regional wage boards, lalong napapanatiling mababa
ang sahod sa mga lugar na hindi saklaw ng National Capital Region (NCR).
Ang pagpapanatili sa
limos na sahod ay nagiging posible rin sa pagpapalaganap ng kawalan ng
kasiguruhan sa paggawa. Ayon sa IBON Foundation, isa sa apat (1 out of
four) na mga manggawang Pilipino ay hindi sumasahod ng minimum wage o may
casual, contractual, probationary, apprentice o seasonal status. Umaabot
na ito sa 4.67 milyon noong 2009. Batay din sa National Statistics Office
(NSO), 37.3% (o 11.71 milyon) lamang ng mga manggagawa ang may nakatalang
kontrata – ang iba ay mga berbal na kontrata lamang o walang anumang uri
ng kontrata. Sa pagtanggal ng posibilidad ng regularisasyon at pagpapataas
sa inseguridad, tinatanggalan din ang mga manggawa ng karapatan sa
pagtanggap ng minimum wage, mga benepisyo, at karapatang magtayo o maging
kasapi ng unyon. Nagbibigay naman ito ng kakayahan sa mga negosyante na
lalong baratin ang sahod, buwagin ang unyon, at tanggalin na lamang
basta-basta sa trabaho ang mga manggagawa.
Suportado ng
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ang “no union policy” na ito sa
ngalan ng “industrial peace” at madalas din na gamitin ang “AJ” o
“assumption of jurisdiction” para pigilan ang pagwewelga ng mga manggagawa
at bigyan ito ng karapatan na gamitan ng pwersang pulis at military ang
mga welgista. Sa ilalim din ng pamumuno ni Arroyo naging target ng
sistematikong pulitikal na pamamaslang ang sektor ng manggagawa. Mula
2001, 102 ang pinaslang (extra-judicial killing) at 10 ang biktima
ng sapilitang pagdukot (enforced disappearance) mula pa lamang sa
Kilusang Mayo Uno at Anakpawis sa pagtatangkang takutin ang uring
manggagawa at supilin ang organisadong pwersa na tumututol sa mga mapaniil
na polisiya ng pamahalaan.
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Taong 1999
pa nang pangunahan ng Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) ang panawagan para sa
umentong P125 sa sahod, pero lagi itong pinipigil ng mga pulitiko at ng
mga “dilawang unyon.” Isa rito ang Trade Union Congress of the Philippines
(TUCP) na nakikipagsabwatan sa administrasyon para lituhin ang mamamayan
sa tunay na dapat hilingin ng sektor ng manggagawa. Bukod sa higit na
mababa ang hinihiling nitong umento (P15 imbis na P125), ipinagtatanggol
din nito ang interes ng mga kapitalista sa pagsasabing hindi posible ang
P125-dagdag dahil “malulugi” ang mga negosyante. Matagal nang pinabulaanan
ito ng mga pag-aaral na ginawa sa mga dayuhan kumpanya at maging ng
maliliit na negosyante. Sa kaso pa lamang ng mga dayuhang korporasyon,
lumilitaw na $3 ang tinutubo ng mga ito sa isang taon sa bawat $1
pinuhunan nila dito. Lalo pang nalantad ang pagiging peke ng unyonismo ng
TUCP nang pagkalooban ito ng P200 milyong “assistance package” ni Arroyo
mula sa buwis ng mamamayan. Sa halip na tugunan ang matagal nang panawagan
para sa aktwal na pagtataas na sahod, mas pinili ng pamahalaan na magbigay
ng mga non-wage benefits at gamitin ang pera ng mamamayan para unyong
anti-manggagawa.
Tulad ng mga
manggagawa, ang mga guro ay nakakaranas din ng mababang pasahod sa kabila
ng parami nang paraming bilang ng estudyante kada klasrum, at pagpapatupad
ng three-shift schedule. Ang lahat ng ito ay dulot ng pag-abandona ng
estado sa responsibilidad nito na bigyan ng prioridad sa badyet ang
sistema ng edukasyon. Maging ang matagal nang panawagan ng Alliance of
Concerned Teacers para sa P3,000 across-the-board wage increase ng mga
guro sa pampublikong paaralan at empleyado ng gobyerno ay di binibigyan ng
kaukulang pansin. Sa huli, iisa ang kalagayan ng mga guro at manggagawa sa
ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo at ng atrasadong ekonomiya ng Pilipinas.
Ang eleksyon
sa Mayo 10 ay nagbubukas ng pagkakataon na maghalal ng mga indibidwal na
maggigiit ng tunay na interes ng mga manggagawa at kalakhan ng mamamayan.
Kung ang mga tradisyunal na pulitiko ay tuwing panahon ng kampanya lamang
ginagamit ang retorika ng “bayan,” “mamamayan,” “interes ng nakararami”
upang muling mahalal, pinatunayan na ng track record sa serbisyo publiko
nina Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna) at Liza Maza (GABRIELA) ang kanilang
matatag na paninindigan para sa uring manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng paghain
ng House Bill 345 sa Kongreso (para sa P125 across the board wage
increase) at ang tuluy-tuloy na pakikiisa sa bawat laban ng mamamayan.
Ang araw na
ito, Mayo Uno, ay hindi lang araw ng paggunita sa kasaysayan ng paggiit ng
uring proletaryado sa mas nakabubuhay na sahod at mas maayos na kondisyon
sa paggawa, kundi higit bilang pagpapakitang-pwersa at potensya ng uring
manggagawa para baguhin ang lipunan. Ang CONTEND, kasama ang iba pang
pinagsasamantalang sektor, ay nakikiisa sa makatuwirang laban ng mga
manggagawa sa pagsusulong ng isang mas malaya at makataong lipunan.
WAKASAN ANG
REHIMENG ARROYO!
ISULONG ANG
PANAWAGANG P125 UMENTO SA SAHOD! BUWAGIN ANG REGIONAL WAGE BOARDS!
IBOTO ANG
MGA PROGRESIBONG LEHISLADOR, LIZA MASA AT SATUR OCAMPO SA SENADO!
IBOTO ANG
TUNAY NA TINIG NG TEACHERS, ACT TEACHERS PARTYLIST SA KONGRESO!
MGA
MANGGAGAWA, MAGKAISA! LABANAN ANG BULOK NA SISTEMA!
- Congress
of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy
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More Liwasang Bonifacio Scenes |
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May 1 tributes
PDFPrintE-mail
Saturday, 01 May 2010 00:00
AddThis Social Bookmark Button
BY ELMER A. ORDOÑEZ
On Labor Day, I would like to dwell on four nationalists on the side of
the masses. Two (Ka Satur Ocampo and Ka Lisa Maza) are running for senator
in this election; one, Dr. Dante Simbulan, now a US resident, is joining
his family and friends here on his 80TH birthday on Monday, and the other,
Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, Anakpawis party-list representative, died in
2008—acknowledged as the most respected and revered labor leader of the
country.
Satur Ocampo and Lisa Maza, partylist representatives (Bayan Muna and
Gabriela), are in the senatorial race as guest candidates of the
Nacionalista Party ticket with Manuel Villar as its presidential
candidate. Political colleagues of Ka Satur and Ka Lisa were initially
surprised, to put it mildly, until they explained that they have a
principled agreement with Villar that their advocacies in land reform,
human rights, workers welfare, women’s rights, national sovereignty,
industrialization and other people’s causes are honored.
Ka Lisa as a UP student leader started integrating with poor women, and
joined Gabriela which she has represented since 2004. In the House, her
first speech was on the plight of Mangyan women in heavily militarized
Mindoro Oriental. She has authored/sponsored bills on anti-trafficking in
persons, anti-violence on women/children, reproductive health, and an end
to contractual labor, among many others. She has urged legislators to
allocate 20 percent of their “pork barrel” (PDAF) to classrooms.
As progressive partylist representative, she has experienced harassment
from the GMA administration and military – including the Palace cutting of
her share of the Priority Development Assistance Fund and being charged
(with Ocampo, Beltran, Teodoro Casino, and Rafael Mariano) with rebellion
and sedition – which were voided by the Supreme Court. Lisa Maza stands as
an inspiration to mass leaders struggling for women’s and workers’
welfare, and deserves a Senate seat to give a strong voice to the
dispossessed.
Satur Ocampo, born of landless tenants, was a working student, became a
founding member of Kabataang Makabayan, and developed as a journalist to
become assistant business editor of the Manila Times until martial law in
1972. He went underground, was arrested in 1976, tortured heavily and
incarcerated in various jails where he led fellow prisoners overcome
despair. In 1985 he escaped while allowed to cast his vote in the National
Press Club election. He became head of the NDF peace panel in 1986 but
forced to return underground because of the Mendiola massacre. He was
rearrested in 1989 together with wife Bobbie Malay, and released in 1992;
they were never found guilty of any crime. As partylist representative, he
was subjected to harassment together with Casino, Beltran, Maza, and
Mariano– including charges of kidnapping with murder — which were
dismissed by the court.
He, Ka Lisa and other progressive party-list representatives have been
consistent in exposing the corruption, human rights violations,
subservience to US policy, among others, of the present administration.
Hence the establishment is trying to destroy party-list representation by
registering scores of bogus party-list groups.
Ka Satur and Ka Lisa would truly represent the marginalized in the Senate.
They have not enriched themselves while in the House.
Dr. Dante Simbulan is the author of The Modern Principalia: A Historical
Evolution of the Philippine Oligarchy—based on his Ph.D. thesis at the
Australian National University in 1967. The thesis acquired the reputation
of being “the most cited and quoted unpublished book” in political
studies, as Prof. David Wurfel put it in a conference at Windsor
University (Ontario, Canada), which Dante and I attended in the early 80s.
His data on the oligarchic families that Dr. Simbulan gathered in the
early 60s for his book remains remarkably relevant to this day. He wrote:
“What we really have is an oligarchy composed of plutocrats, of wealthy
people, whose source of power is not the sovereign will of the people, but
mainly the possession of wealth and other requisites of influence that
have been acquired through the immoral and highly unquestionable use of
such wealth.”
Dr. Simbulan was an honor PMA graduate, thrust into the war against the
Huks, and saw the alienation of the people who would close their homes and
hide their chickens and pigs whenever the army entered their barrios. His
son, UP professor Roland Simbulan, recalled that his father as PMA
professor invited progressives to speak before the cadets, and was “bawled
out” by the superintendent. The visitors included Antonio and Gemma
Araneta, Francisco Nemenzo,Jr., and Jose Maria Sison. Cadet Victor Corpuz
underwent a Paulinian conversion and as PC lieutenant, joined the New
People’s Army by first raiding the PMA armory. In 1967 Dante resigned as
colonel, taught in Ateneo and PCC, was arrested during martial law and
detained for more than two years. He later went to the US to organize the
Church Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, working for the
termination of US aid to Marcos.
A Labor Day tribute would not be complete without mentioning Ka Bel who
has stood tall in the pantheon of labor. While many labor leaders were
co-opted by the establishment, Ka Bel headed the militant Kilusang Mayo
Uno, was arrested and detained, escaped (with the help of his wife Ka
Osang) and integrated with peasants in Central Luzon. As partylist
representative (Bayan Muna and Anakpawis), Ka Bel pushed bills to benefit
the masses.
eaordonez2000@yahoo.com This e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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March to Liwasan and on to
Mendiola |
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League of Filipino Students
118-B Sct. Rallos Ext. Bgy Sacred Heart, Quezon City
PRESS RELEASE
April 28, 2010
New Grads Troop to DOLE to Demand Employment
"The graduation speakers are wrong. After graduation, the new
graduates are without work nor can they expect any bright future
anytime soon." This was the statement of Terry Ridon, national
chairperson of the League of Filipino Students, as students and youth
picketed the Department of Labor and Employment to decry growing youth
unemployment despite being bright-eyed new graduates.
Ridon said that with the current state of the economy and the economic
policies of the Arroyo administration, new graduates can only expect
menial jobs abroad and slavish employment in call centers.
"Worse, the leading presidential contender, Noynoy Aquino promises
more of the same policies on the economy and employment as Mrs.
Arroyo."
Ridon said that Aquino affirmed free enterprise and foreign labor
export as pillars of his economic agenda.
"With such continuance, the nine years of hardship under Arroyo will
still be experienced under an Aquino presidency."
Ridon lamented that most of his economic advisers were those from the
Arroyo administration, notwithstanding the having support of
'neoliberal' economic luminaries of the Cory administration who were
the architects of privatization and deregulation after the
dictatorship.
Privatization had caused the sale of basic industries like water and
electricity to the private sector. Deregulation had caused the prices
of oil to uncontrollably spiral upwards since the 90s.
"We thus vow not only to ensure the end of the Arroyo government by
June 30, but also to prevent an Aquino presidency as it would only be
more of the same policies of the current administration."
Reference: Terry Ridon, 09155310725, teridon18@gmail.com
--
Sent from my mobile device
"the development of each is the development of all."
teridon.blospot.com |
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MAKABAYANG KOALISYON NG MAMAMAYAN –SOUTHERN
TAGALOG
(MAKABAYAN-ST)
Carbern Subdivision, Brgy. Anos, Los Baños, Laguna
Press Release Reference person:
May 1, 2010 Benjamin Villeno (09213179781)
MAKABAYAN-ST Secretary General
Despite high survey ratings, militant partylist groups not complacent;
show electoral force on Labor Day
The top ratings of the latest survey of the Social Weather Station is not
reason for militant partylists to celebrate and be complacent as today’s
commemoration of the 107th Labor Day in the Philippines was staged
consecutive with an all-out support for the MAKABAYAN coalition Miting de
Avance in Southern Tagalog.
The program, which peaked to around 8,000 supporters that flooded the
regional center in Crossing, Calamba City is a clear reminder of the force
of the militants in the Southern Tagalog in not only ensuring seats for
their progressive candidates but guard the election process against any
form of electoral fraud once ballots have been casted.
MAKABAYAN –Southern Tagalog Secretary General Benjamin Villeno stated that
the growing plea of the workers, peasants and other sectors of society for
genuine change under the current government makes it justifiable to
commemorate May 1 as a venue to campaign further the progressive
partylists Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela Women’s Party, Kabataan, ACT
Teachers and Katribu together with MAKABAYAN senatoriables Satur Ocampo
and Liza Maza.
Throughout the day, various activities were staged in key areas of the
region led by Pamantik-Kilusang Mayo Uno. Colorful motorcades were staged
around the provinces of Batangas and Laguna while workers’ forums were
held in Cavite and Rizal. Each of the provinces also held separate
programs that reached around 2,000 participants. Information booths were
also set-up around Laguna that aimed for voters’ education and awareness
campaign. Anakpawis Rep. Joel Maglungsod and Senatoriable Liza Maza joined
the mobilization at around 4pm, in support of the region’s demand for a
people’s agenda.
“The voters have only a handful of candidates including our partylists and
senatoriables to rely on for a clear platform of uplifting the plight of
the Filipino people. As we count the days until this long awaited
election, we also count the last days of the Arroyo regime. If we lose our
vigilance; either she remains in power or someone much worse will take her
place,” Villeno said.
Villeno, also regional coordinator of Bayan Muna, stressed the imminent
possibility of a failure of elections given the conditions that the Arroyo
regime has set. He slammed the recent Armed Forces of the Philippines’
Task Force HOPE declaration of a red alert to apparently guard the
people’s vote. He said election related violence can increase if coupled
with a military takeover due to this policy.
“We cannot trust the military in protecting our votes, because they are
the same culprits who have destroyed the credibility of the 2004 and 2007
elections. Arroyo running for congress and the chief justice by her side
are added proofs that this administration will not give up its power that
easily,” Villeno said.
Virgilio Colandog, Anakpawis partylist regional secretary general,
emphasized the need for genuine improvement in the economic conditions of
the working class. Currently in Southern Tagalog where most workers are
concentrated because of economic processing zones under the CALABARZON
project, the workers experience low wages and no benefits combined with
inhuman working environment inside factories.
“That is why we give our full support to our progressive candidates as we
are secured that they will champion the workers’ cause,” Colandog stressed
and added that Arroyo’s Holiday Economics that transferred the holiday to
May 3 has obviously failed to discourage the basic sectors to practice
their legitimate right to express dissent in the internationally
celebrated event.
Meanwhile, Leona Entena, Gabriela Women’s Party 5th nominee said that
women workers’ are doubly exploited in the Philippine society –a situation
that Gabriela has been fighting against for decades. Think-tank group Ibon
reports that 11.2 percent average unemployment rate for the period
2001-2009 broke previous records of unemployment figures in the past five
decades. Prior to the program, a “Sagala of the Youth” resembling a Flores
de Mayo celebration was commenced by Kabataan Partylist Southern Tagalog,
calling for education and jobs to be prioritized by new leaders.
“We see here that all sectors of society are united in the need to address
the people’s issues instead of mud smearing campaign in the electoral
processes. We will continue our campaign to strengthen our militant
numbers and once election day comes, see to it that any hint of a failure
of election is seized,” Villeno ended. #
For inquiries, contact e @ 09272421508 or Tin @ 09291342394
--
IBOTO SA SENADO
SATUR OCAMPO AT LIZA MAZA!
PALABAN. MAKAMASA. MAKABAYAN. |
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8 photos by Ron Villegas |
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