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| From Cebu Toyo Corporation website |
According to the
group Partido Manggagawa (PM), some 230 workers of Cebu Toyo Corporation have
been put on indefinite forced leave as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran.
PM is calling for an improved public employment program to assist the laid off
workers in transitioning to new and better jobs.
“Unfortunately, we
fear that the indefinite forced leave is a step towards eventual retrenchment
for the workers. Further, the mass layoff promises to be just the first wave of
war-related terminations. Thus, the government needs to set up a job assistance
program in dialogue with labor organizations,” stated Dennis Derige,
spokesperson of the Cebu chapter of PM and also vice chair of the Regional 7
industrial tripartite peace council.
Cebu Toyo produces
optical lenses for electronic products and is located in the Mactan Economic
Zone 2 at Basak, Lapu-Lapu City. The indefinite forced leave was a response to
supply chain disruptions due to the war in the Middle East, according to the management
of Cebu Toyo.
PM is assisting the
workers and is coordinating with the local office of the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) for a dialogue with the affected workers. “This is a test
case of the emergency powers granted to President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. With great
power comes great responsibility. We demand an urgent response from the
President’s alter ego in the DOLE,” Derige asserted.
PM has criticized
the existing emergency employment program called TUPAD for being too limited
and entangled in patronage politics. The group is calling for a new public
employment program that is delinked from politicians and instead based on a
national registry of legitimate beneficiaries. Moreover, it is calling for 100
days of paid work not the usual 10 days. Finally, PM wants to prioritize
climate jobs instead of the street sweeping that TUPAD currently implements.
Derige also called
on the regional wage board to fast track the P100 wage petition filed by
unions. Derige argued that “The unprecedented emergency powers granted to
President Marcos, Jr. is already enough evidence of a supervening event that
necessitates an immediate decision by the wage board.”
With Labor Day just more than a month away, PM is calling for an expanded ayuda program and an independent foreign policy aside from a P200 legislated wage hike and improved public employment program. “The Philippines should add its voice to the call of the Pope and other global actors for an end to the war and a new rules-based international order based on respect for sovereignty and development,” Derige insisted.
Press Release
April 14, 2026
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