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KMU to GMA: Declaration of
sympathy can’t save lives; ‘We want Gibo out of NDCC’
Date: 11 October 2010
Reference Person:
Elmer "Bong" Labog, KMU Chairperson
Contact information:
0929-629-3234
Mrs. Arroyo should prove, and not merely declare, her sympathy for the
victims of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng.” Beyond helping our kababayans
evacuate from dangerous areas, her government should create and implement
policies that will provide concrete immediate and long-term support to
typhoon victims.
Instead of imposing a moratorium on loan payments to the SSS and GSIS, the
government should infuse funds to these agencies so they can provide
members affected by the typhoon with P20,000 direct assistance. Workers
need to have cash to acquire basic necessities which they lost during the
typhoon and make household repairs. The government has more than enough
funds to give out more than loans.
Instead of asking or pushing urban poor residents staying in evacuation
centers to either go back to their provinces (which they left because of
landlessness, joblessness and militarization) or move to “inaayawang”
relocation sites (which are far from their sources of livelihood and often
pose dangers to their lives), the government should provide affordable and
safe homes to the urban poor within Metro Manila.
The Arroyo government must not try to halt public discussions on the
typhoons, their aftermath and government response. Her government’s
assessment should not be a “sorry-now-sin-later” kind, similar to her
“I…am...sorry” speech regarding the “Hello Garci” controversy. The
criminal neglect that we have seen among government agencies should cause
heads to roll and cases to be filed against government officials.
Sec. Gilbert Teodoro, for one, should be sacked from his post, for
carrying out a disaster response that is more disastrous than the calamity
itself as head of the National Disaster Coordinating Council. What he has
shown in the face of disaster is a callous and ineffective leadership that
is the trademark of his master Gloria Arroyo. We do not need more of his
publicity stunts and promises. We want him out of the NDCC now. # |
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Dam execs must face criminal
charges - KMU
Date: 10 October 2009
Reference Person:
Elmer "Bong" Labog, KMU Chairperson
Contact information:
0929-629-3234
Dam authorities should face criminal charges over the timing of release of
water from several dams in Luzon during the onslaught of typhoons “Ondoy”
and “Pepeng,” according to labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno.
KMU said the release of dam water as heavy rain poured into cities and
towns significantly contributed to the immense flooding in many parts of
Luzon, which devastated lives and livelihoods in the past few days.
“Dam authorities have continuously justified the said action in their
statements to the media, while refusing to explain and elaborate on
whether proper precautionary measures were taken,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog,
KMU chairperson.
In particular, the labor group called for an investigation into the
liability of the administrators of San Roque and Pantabangan dams.
“We ask the dam authorities: were warnings issued to the public before
water was released from the dams? Could there have been a better time for
releasing water? People can’t help but think that they released water
while the typhoons were raging, not earlier when it’s a lot safer for
ordinary people”.
KMU said it understands the reasons being dished out by dam authorities,
that it would be better to release water than allow the dam to break and
release even more water. “But this should be done days before the
onslaught of a typhoon,” said Labog.
“Modern technology already allows us to predict the path and intensity of
typhoons. And warnings should be issued, so the people won’t be caught
flat-footed when water levels rise.
“Dam authorities should find a better way of dealing with heavy rainfall,
instead of just making ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ statements.
People living in areas surrounding dams cannot just accept death everytime
there are typhoons,” added Labog.
The labor group reiterated its oppositon to big dam projects, saying these
cause the destruction of the ecosystem, dislocate many communities and
endanger the lives and properties of countless people.
“The creation of dams has displaced many people before. Now, the
administrators of dams are drowning people and destroying many
properties,” Labog said.
“Clearly, the disaster tells us that the government has been an accomplice
of private corporations in causing wanton destruction of the environment
and displacement of families by failing to regulate the construction and
operation of dams,” he added. ###
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PRESS STATEMENT
14 October 2009
KMU urges EU: Stop funding the criminal
It is with great dismay that victims of trade union repression have
learned of the decision of the European Union (EU) to give 3.9 million
euros to the Arroyo regime, which is notorious for its gross human and
labor rights violations. Coming in less than two weeks after the first
International Labor Organization High-level Mission (ILO-HLM), which came
close to indicting the present regime of trade union rights violations,
such news appears as mockery of our struggle for justice and for an end to
the persecution of critical voices in the country.
We strongly condemn this blind and foolish move by the EU to provide the
number one criminal, Gloria Arroyo, with fresh funds to sustain her
atrocity against activists and activist organizations. Rather than help
curb extra-judicial killings, the fund will reload military and police
guns with fresh ammunition. Rather than stop enforced disappearances, it
will spawn more government-hired agents who will carry out the abductions
of activists. It's like giving the Joker some bombs with the objective of
saving Gotham City.
Previous investigations – the most famous of which is that of UN special
rapporteur Philip Alston – have already proven the liability of the
military for the extra-judicial killings in the country. Setting up and
funding the so-called EU-Philippine Justice Support Program or EPJUST
would just be pointless. At this point wherein evidence and public
sentiment all point to Arroyo’s responsibility for gross human rights
violations since 2001, what the present government needs is a host of
political and economic sanctions – not funding.
If the EU really intends to use the fund to end attacks against activists,
then it should not give it to the criminal. It must give it to the victims
and their relatives and organizations – all of which who need financial
support in pursuing court cases against the military and police forces.
The funds should go to those deprived of justice, no to those with bloody
hands. #
Reference: Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU Chairperson, 0929-629-3234 |
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PRESS STATEMENT
14 October 2009
‘Balik-probinsya’ program glosses over landlessness, lack of jobs in
the provinces
In the wake of the displacement of families caused by typhoons, the Arroyo
regime has yet again come up with a twisted program of sending poor people
living in the metro back to the provinces. But are we supposed to think
that their only problem is that they don’t have money to pay for the bus
ride? Poor Filipinos have more serious reasons in living in precarious
spaces in Metro Manila.
In the first place, our poor kababayans were driven away from their homes
in the provinces by landlessness, joblessness and militarization. They
also went to Metro Manila because of the myth – perpetuated in part by the
government – that there are plenty of job opportunities here, that the
poor can get by here by working hard and not being lazy.
Now, government officials like Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone are saying
that our poor kababayans can stay and get by in the provinces with a
little initial help from the local government and by working hard. We find
this claim hard to believe. The provinces are no better than Metro Manila
in terms of providing job opportunities for our poor kababayans.
As the “balik-probinsya” program will gloss over the basic problems of our
poor kababayans, it will ease some of the government's problems. It will
remove the poor from the view of the government, the upper and middle
classes who complain about them, and the media. It will effectively mute
their calls for decent housing, livelihood and social services.
The government should confront the problem head-on. It should provide what
it contemptuously calls “squatters” with decent and affordable housing, as
well as with livelihood opportunities. Pushing the poor to areas where
they cannot be seen nor heard will not solve the problem. Their problem,
like the urban poor themselves, will not go away. #
Reference: Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU Chairperson, 0929-629-3234 |
