Beyond change of guards in Congress: The country needs deeper governance and political reforms

 

Even if today’s lawmakers—including Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez - and more from the list of implicated persons in DPWH’s flood control project scam — step down from their posts, their lives will remain secured by wealth, privilege, and political networks. In sharp contrast, millions of Filipino workers continue to live struggling under low wages, contractual employment, poor public services, and weak social protections.

 

“This glaring divide shows why cosmetic changes in leadership, even at the highest levels, are not enough,” said Partido Manggagawa Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

“Beyond sending incorrigible crooks in government to jail, the country needs deeper governance and political reforms that dismantle elite domination and put the real majority - workers, farmers, and ordinary citizens at the center of decision-making,” he added.

 

Among the reforms urgently needed are:

               •             An anti-dynasty law and campaign finance reform to break the stranglehold of political families and corporate capture;

               •             Stronger labor rights to ensure living wages, job security, full employment, and the right to organize;

               •             Transparent and accountable governance to stop corruption and misuse of public funds;

               •             Inclusive policy-making mechanisms that amplify the voices of workers and other marginalized groups;

               •             Progressive taxation, including wealth tax, to fund universal social protection, and sustainable jobs.

 

“These reforms are not just about changing politicians,” the group added. “They are about changing the system so that public service means serving the people, not protecting elite interests.”

 

PM is joining the Simbahan at Komunidad Laban sa Katiwalian for the Trillion Peso March on September 21 at the People Power Monument. ###

PM joining the anti-corruption mass and action at Edsa Shrine

Buwis Namin, Huwag Nakawin!

 

Workers pay the price of corruption. Much of government revenues come directly from income taxes of workers and value-added tax (VAT) from consumers, the majority of whom are workers. Yet, instead of being returned to us in the form of quality public service, our hard-earned money is stolen by corrupt politicians, contractors, and syndicates in the bureaucracy like DPWH.

 

“Buwis namin, Huwag Nakawin!” is our battle cry.

 

Corruption does not only enrich the few—it creates obscene wealth for contractors, politicians, and bureaucrats while leaving workers and the poor with broken roads and dikes, collapsed bridges, and unfinished projects. Corruption kills. Ghost projects and substandard infrastructure cost lives and livelihoods.

 

Unchecked corruption breeds impunity, as seen in the Marcos dictatorship’s billions in ill-gotten wealth—an era whose shadow still haunts us today, on his birthday. Fraud unchecked strengthens political dynasties, fattens entrenched elites in Congress and local government, and perpetuates inequality in our society.

 

The working people deserve justice. To have that, the government needs total cleansing of corruption in public service and infrastructure projects, as well as in politics. Heads must roll! We also need political reforms to break dynasties, dismantle patronage politics, and strengthen accountability.

 

We acknowledge, though, that more action by workers, the youth and the majority of people to resist and expose corruption is needed, because if we remain silent, they will continue to steal our future.

 

The wealth of the nation comes from the sweat of workers. We will not allow our labor, our taxes, and our lives to be sacrificed on the altar of corruption.

 

Buwis namin, huwag nakawin!

 

On the Mindoro incident: Start at the top – not at the guardhouse

 

Photo from Daily Tribune

The incident in Oriental Mindoro where a construction site guard was blamed after preventing Governor Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor from entering a DPWH project site exposes how crooked government officials treat workers – as disposable shields to protect those truly responsible. DPWH Regional Director for MIMAROPA, Engr. Pacanan’s call to dismiss the guard is nothing less than scapegoating.

 

For us, this incident reveals a disturbing pattern, like other high-level investigations such as the fertilizer, pork barrel, war on drugs, and Pharmally scams: the blame too often falls on small workers, while the powerful and well-connected scape scrutiny. It is not under the guard’s 24/7 watch but with Pacanan’s regular and diligent inspections that DWPH projects comply with the highest standards.

 

Let us be clear: The security was doing his job. He’s not the one raking millions from padded contracts, substandard projects, and anomalous flood control programs. Yet in the middle of ongoing investigations, it is the small fries who are threatened with dismissal, while the big fish – contractors, politicians, and high officials remain untouched.

 

Furthermore, the incident shows the rotten state of governance in the country: when projects are questioned, it is the powerless who pay the price. Meanwhile, the politically connected contractors and DPWH brass continue business as usual, unaccountable for public funds wasted and communities left vulnerable to floods and disasters.

 

Kung gusto ninyong magsimulang maglinis DPWH, unahin ninyo ang sarili ninyong tanggapan dahil dyan nagaganap ang totoong tanggapan kasama ang mga contractors at politicians.

 

Hands off the workers! If DPWH wants accountability, start at the top – not at the guardhouse. Let the axe fall where it should be – on the corrupt, not the working class. 

A dynasty-filled Senate is anti-impeachment

Dismissing Sara Duterte’s impeachment case in plain view was just like re-electing Chiz Escudero. The alignment was the same. The numbers and faces who rejected the motion to keep the impeachment process alive in the Senate are the same mix of people representing political dynasties. Their votes, therefore, have nothing to do with the “rule of law” nor the representation of their “independence” as co-equal.

 

Yesterday, the Senate majority just did what Escudero wanted them to do since the 19th Congress – kill the impeachment.  Yet, it is harder to think that it was Sara Duterte who’s managing Chiz or she’s in virtual control of the Senate. That’s surely beyond her power and competence.

 

So why did the Senate majority unanimously reject a very simple “PAKIUSAP” by the minority to wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court on the motion for reconsideration? They could have simply suspended deliberations rather than put into the archive an impeachment complaint, which they also believed was non-existent.

 

There can only be one explanation for this, which we believe was driving the new Senate under Escudero. This was brilliantly explained by Cayetano’s “talunin nyo na lang si Sara sa 2028” remark, coupled with other innuendos about the possibility of endless impeachment complaints flooding the Senate in the future because of corruption. That sharp presentation in support of making the impeachment process more difficult has truly assumed consensus among dynasties in the Senate. Dynasties have their own political plans beyond the Senate, and impeachment is the least political process that they will support.

 

Clearly, the Senate they are shaping today is anti-impeachment. In other words, their votes yesterday were not just for Sara but also for themselves. Their defense of Sara is their flood control to prevent the arm of justice and accountability reaching their own dynasty walls. 

“Nakakahiya na talaga kayo!” – Workers cry foul on killed wage hike and planned dismissal of impeachment

 

The Senate of the 19th Congress has simultaneously stalled action on both the proposed wage hike and the impeachment case. Sen. Escudero effectively killed the wage hike measure, while the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte is also poised to be dismissed today.

 

At a protest in front of the Senate this morning led by Tindig Pilipinas, Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Kalipunan, and Siklab, members of Partido Manggagawa (PM), raised their voices against the Senate inaction: “No impeachment, no wage hike? Nakakahiya na talaga kayo!”

 

“Impeach! Huwag Puro Insert sa National Budget,” a PM poster displayed, referring to reported billions of insertions to the 2025 budget allegedly orchestrated by Escudero.

 

The Senate plans to vote on whether to dismiss or not the impeachment complaint following the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the House’s impeachment process unconstitutional. But the House of Representatives filed a motion for reconsideration before the high tribunal, while several civil society organizations and former Justices also filed separate petitions for intervention and asking the Court to declare a status quo ante and the holding or oral arguments.

 

An outright dismissal is totally deplorable, according to PM Secretary General Judy Miranda, since a bad Senate decision will have deep repercussions for other equally important measures on accountability and social justice.

 

The proposed wage hike and anti-endo bills have once again been refiled in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

 

“Workers fight for their passage alongside the impeachment case, as both good governance and raising the living standards of Filipinos are constitutional duties of lawmakers,” Miranda said. 

Photos can be accessed at the FB page: Partido Manggagawa