Press Release
May 4, 2010
Bilang reaksyon sa pagbawi ng 7,000 palyadong memory cards at 3,000 PCOS machines sa NCR, nanawagan ang grupong party-list na Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) na magbantay ang mga botante sa harap ng posibleng failure of elections. “Ang pagbawi ng memory cards at PCOS machines ay pinakahuli lang sa serye ng mga kababalaghang maaring mauwi sa failure of elections,” pahayag ni Renato Magtubo, tagapangulo ng PM.
Sumang-ayon din ang PM sa kontrobersyal na panawagang maglunsad ng people power sakaling maganap ang failure of elections. Nagpahayag ang grupo ng kahandaang magmobilisa ng mga manggagawa at maralita para sa isang people power laban sa itatayong gobyernong junta na kahahantungan ng failure of elections.
“Ang failure of elections ay katumbas ng failure of the system. Sa ganitong sitwasyon, ang people power ay karapatan ng sambayanan para magbigay daan sa pagbabago sa halip na nakawin ng nakaupong rehimen ang kapangyarihan,” paninindigan ni Magtubo.
Aniya, “May sarili kaming ulat mula sa Romblon na pumalpak din ang testing ng PCOS machines. Dagdag pa ito sa media reports ng palyadong makina sa NCR, Mindoro at Batangas.”
Ibinunyag ni Magtubo na ikinakasa na nila ang mga lider at miyembro ng PM para maging pollwatchers sa polling centers ng matataong depressed communities kung saan mayroon silang chapters. “Ang Workers Ballot Brigades ay pupwesto sa mga presinto ng Metro Manila at paligid nitong Calabarzon at Bulacan, at ibang sentrong syudad gaya ng Metro Cebu, Metro Bacolod at Metro Davao.” ###
Showing posts with label 2010 elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 elections. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Amidst concerns of election failure: PM calls on voters to be vigilant, say people power a must option
Press Release
May 4, 2010
In reaction to the recall of some 7,000 faulty memory cards and another 3,000 PCOS machines in the NCR, the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on voters to be vigilant amidst concerns of an election failure. “The recall of memory cards and PCOS machines days before May 10 is just the latest in a series of twists that may lead to a failure of elections,” declared PM chair Renato Magtubo.
PM added its voice to the growing call for people power in the event of a failed election and in the context of a power vacuum. “A failed election would be tantamount to a failure of the whole system and under such a scenario, a people power is a must option to be able to reboot the system rather than let it hang in favor of the sitting elite faction of the ruling class,” Magtubo insisted.
He added that “We have first hand reports of PCOS machines failing tests in Romblon. This is in addition to media reports of such failures in the NCR, Mindoro and Batangas.”
Magtubo revealed that the PM is mobilizing its leaders and members to be pollwatchers in populous depressed communities in which the group has chapters. “These workers’ Ballot Brigades will be present in the precincts of Metro Manila and its vicinities Calabarzon and Bulacan, and in other cities such as Metro Cebu, Metro Bacolod and Metro Davao,” he clarified.
Magtubo said the organized and even the unorganized sections of the working class will take the streets for a gallant stand against a junta type hold over government which is the most likely outcome of failed elections.
“That is because failed institutions under the Arroyo regime cannot redeem the system from such a failure, thus, a people power is the only option that can unmake or dispose of the current rotten system, or create new institutions to save this dying nation,” concludes Magtubo.
May 4, 2010
In reaction to the recall of some 7,000 faulty memory cards and another 3,000 PCOS machines in the NCR, the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on voters to be vigilant amidst concerns of an election failure. “The recall of memory cards and PCOS machines days before May 10 is just the latest in a series of twists that may lead to a failure of elections,” declared PM chair Renato Magtubo.
PM added its voice to the growing call for people power in the event of a failed election and in the context of a power vacuum. “A failed election would be tantamount to a failure of the whole system and under such a scenario, a people power is a must option to be able to reboot the system rather than let it hang in favor of the sitting elite faction of the ruling class,” Magtubo insisted.
He added that “We have first hand reports of PCOS machines failing tests in Romblon. This is in addition to media reports of such failures in the NCR, Mindoro and Batangas.”
Magtubo revealed that the PM is mobilizing its leaders and members to be pollwatchers in populous depressed communities in which the group has chapters. “These workers’ Ballot Brigades will be present in the precincts of Metro Manila and its vicinities Calabarzon and Bulacan, and in other cities such as Metro Cebu, Metro Bacolod and Metro Davao,” he clarified.
Magtubo said the organized and even the unorganized sections of the working class will take the streets for a gallant stand against a junta type hold over government which is the most likely outcome of failed elections.
“That is because failed institutions under the Arroyo regime cannot redeem the system from such a failure, thus, a people power is the only option that can unmake or dispose of the current rotten system, or create new institutions to save this dying nation,” concludes Magtubo.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
May 1 protest demands a stop to layoffs and contractualization
May 1, 2010
The call to stop mass layoffs and labor contractualization rang loud and clear in protests on Labor Day. The demand to reform the wage fixing system and abolish the wage boards were also highlighted in the protest motorcade dubbed “Sakbayan para sa Trabahong Regular at Dagdag Sahod” by the party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).
“Can the 3,000 PAL employees to be retrenched on May 31 find work in the Labor Day job fairs of the government? If ever they do, they will probably end up as contractual workers, which is their same fate in the spun off companies to be created by Lucio Tan. Regular jobs are being destroyed and replaced by contractual work in which wages are cheaper, benefits are fewer and security of tenure is abolished,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
The May 1 motorcade converged by 7:00 a.m. at the PAL In Flight Center along Airport Road in Paranaque. A program was held in which Gerry Rivera, PAL Employees Association (PALEA) president and PM vice-chairperson, was the main speaker. The motorcade then proceeded to Mendiola for a joint program with other labor groups by 10:00 a.m.
Rivera criticized the Department of Labor and Employment for assuming jurisdiction (AJ) of the labor dispute in PAL when PALEA has not even held a strike vote and has not yet discussed holding a strike. The AJ order was dated April 23, 2010 and stopped PALEA from continuing with the protest motorcades that had mobilized hundreds of workers last week.
Magtubo called on PAL to cancel the retrenchment planned for May 31. “The failure of elections that could result from a slowdown or paralysis of PAL’s operations is the responsibility of management since it provoked the labor dispute,” Magtubo argued. PM is supporting the series of protest actions by PAL workers against spinoff and contractualization.
Magtubo also lambasted the government for freezing wages for the past two years and its announcement that no wage hike is forthcoming. “The minimum wage has been stuck at P382 while the prices of basic goods and services have skyrocketed. In the midst of rotating brownouts and less energy consumption, consumers’ electricity bills have increased by 50% and yet the government will not lift a finger to ease workers’ burdens. To the bitter end, the Gloria Arroyo regime remains anti-labor,” he exclaimed.
PM also led May 1 protests in Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao and Iligan. In Cebu, more than 1,000 workers marched to the campout of the displaced Alta Mode workers at the gates of the Mactan export processing zone. PAL workers in Cebu joined the Labor Day program at the Alta Mode campout. In Bacolod, a caravan of more than 20 trucks from plantations in South Negros entered Bacolod in the morning and met with other contingents for an indoor rally at the Teacher Center. At the end of the indoor rally by 3:00 p.m., the participants marched to SM-Bacolod where a job fair was being held and tore in half an employment contract in a symbolic protest at contractualization.
Meanwhile in Iloilo City, a caravan of 20 jeeps ended in a rally at Plaza Letogay. In Davao, PM members assembled by 1:00 p.m. at the corner of Magsaysay and Roxas Blvds. before marching to Orcullo Freedom Park for a joint rally with other groups. Also in Iligan, PM joined a labor unity parade by the different labor groups that went around the downtown area. A program was then held at the City Plaza where workers concerns were discussed. Finally in Koronadal City, PM members led by the union of the Yellow Bus Line marched around the downtown area in the afternoon.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Independent congressional candidate decry double standard and harassment
Press Release
April 13, 2010
Supporters of an independent running for the congressional seat of the first district of Cavite held a picket at the Comelec office in Kawit, Cavite over alleged double standard in removing campaign materials. A hundred members of the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) trooped to the new Kawit municipal hall at 10 am today for the protest while their leaders engaged in a dialogue with Comelec officials.
Adel Dinero, a PM leader who is running for the first congressional district of Cavite, led the protesters. He asserted that “We do not mind the operasyon baklas of the Comelec if they implement it fairly. But why are my campaign materials and tarpaulins of PM being removed while those of other candidates and party-lists remain?”
Dinero is a 33-year old political neophyte who is competing against established names such as Cavite City Mayor Totie Paredes and incumbent Rep. Jun Abaya. Dinero is an incumbent barangay kagawad of Aplaya, Kawit, and a community leader as president of Boracay Silangan Endeavor Neighborhood Association Inc. and general-secretary of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Kawit, a federation of urban poor groups.
Joy Aguilar, a leader of PM in Cavite, declared that “The Comelec in Kawit is patently guilty of double standard. This is happening at the same time as several of our grassroots leaders are being harassed.”
In the past several days, Comelec personnel together with police men have been removing campaign materials of Dinero in the towns of Kawit, Cavite City, Noveleta and Rosario which comprise the first congressional district of Cavite.
Aguilar announced that the picket is only the start of larger protests that PM will lead if Comelec officials in Kawit cannot satisfactorily explain what she claimed as a “double standard in operasyon baklas.” She contended that the harassment is happening as Dinero’s independent campaign is gaining ground on a platform of change and empowerment.
Dinero explained that “I want to be voice of the youth, the workers and the poor of Cavite who are tired of the dominance and evils of patronage politics in the first district.” Aside from Dinero, another PM leader is running for a local position in the area, Nena Olvina for councilor of Rosario. The first district of Cavite is considered as the stronghold of PM in Cavite. Meanwhile PM is participating in the party-list elections on a platform of “Apat na Dapat.” These are the four working class demands for regular jobs, a living wage, affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage.
April 13, 2010
Supporters of an independent running for the congressional seat of the first district of Cavite held a picket at the Comelec office in Kawit, Cavite over alleged double standard in removing campaign materials. A hundred members of the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) trooped to the new Kawit municipal hall at 10 am today for the protest while their leaders engaged in a dialogue with Comelec officials.
Adel Dinero, a PM leader who is running for the first congressional district of Cavite, led the protesters. He asserted that “We do not mind the operasyon baklas of the Comelec if they implement it fairly. But why are my campaign materials and tarpaulins of PM being removed while those of other candidates and party-lists remain?”
Dinero is a 33-year old political neophyte who is competing against established names such as Cavite City Mayor Totie Paredes and incumbent Rep. Jun Abaya. Dinero is an incumbent barangay kagawad of Aplaya, Kawit, and a community leader as president of Boracay Silangan Endeavor Neighborhood Association Inc. and general-secretary of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Kawit, a federation of urban poor groups.
Joy Aguilar, a leader of PM in Cavite, declared that “The Comelec in Kawit is patently guilty of double standard. This is happening at the same time as several of our grassroots leaders are being harassed.”
In the past several days, Comelec personnel together with police men have been removing campaign materials of Dinero in the towns of Kawit, Cavite City, Noveleta and Rosario which comprise the first congressional district of Cavite.
Aguilar announced that the picket is only the start of larger protests that PM will lead if Comelec officials in Kawit cannot satisfactorily explain what she claimed as a “double standard in operasyon baklas.” She contended that the harassment is happening as Dinero’s independent campaign is gaining ground on a platform of change and empowerment.
Dinero explained that “I want to be voice of the youth, the workers and the poor of Cavite who are tired of the dominance and evils of patronage politics in the first district.” Aside from Dinero, another PM leader is running for a local position in the area, Nena Olvina for councilor of Rosario. The first district of Cavite is considered as the stronghold of PM in Cavite. Meanwhile PM is participating in the party-list elections on a platform of “Apat na Dapat.” These are the four working class demands for regular jobs, a living wage, affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Labor party-list dares Mikey Arroyo to face security guards in forum
Press Release
April 12, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) dared Rep. Mikey Arroyo who is running as a party-list nominee to attend the forum being organized by a group of security guards. “Since Mikey claims to be the party-list representative of security guards, there is no reason for him not to face his alleged constituents, present his electoral platform and defend his track record, of which we have not heard of yet,” asserted Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
A group of security guards led by Pilo Rosete, a licensed guard with more than 15 years of experience, announced yesterday that they plan to invite Arroyo to participate in a forum they are organizing. Rosete said that security guards want to hear Arroyo’s position on the concerns and grievances of their sector. He also declared that they will invite Magtubo and ex-General Danny Lim to the forum so they can faceoff with Arroyo on various issues of interest to security guards.
Magtubo confirmed that he will attend the security guards forum. He added that “It would be interesting to debate with Mikey about his allegations that he is the voice of the security guards as a marginalized group. If Mikey does not honor the invitation of the security guards then it can only because he does wish to be exposed as a fake.”
Rosete stated that they were surprised by the existence of Arroyo’s party-list group of security guards and they were ignorant of the latter’s qualifications as a nominee. “The forum will be an opportunity for my fellow security guards to ask questions of Mikey Arroyo. We will ask him about his stance on the long hours of work, the low wages and the lack of security of tenure of many security guards. We want to hear what laws he will enact to protect the rights and welfare of security guards. We wish to know if he will push for the organizing of security guards into associations so we can defend our economic and social interests,” Rosete clarified.
Magtubo insisted that security guards are a sub-sector of the working class and that “PM has acted as the political party of workers, including security guards, inside Congress and the parliament of the streets. PM’s platform of ‘Apat na Dapat’ responds to the most important grievances of security guards. The ‘Apat na Dapat’ means regular jobs, a living wage, affordable housing and healthcare coverage for all workers, which incidentally are also the demands of security guards.”
April 12, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) dared Rep. Mikey Arroyo who is running as a party-list nominee to attend the forum being organized by a group of security guards. “Since Mikey claims to be the party-list representative of security guards, there is no reason for him not to face his alleged constituents, present his electoral platform and defend his track record, of which we have not heard of yet,” asserted Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
A group of security guards led by Pilo Rosete, a licensed guard with more than 15 years of experience, announced yesterday that they plan to invite Arroyo to participate in a forum they are organizing. Rosete said that security guards want to hear Arroyo’s position on the concerns and grievances of their sector. He also declared that they will invite Magtubo and ex-General Danny Lim to the forum so they can faceoff with Arroyo on various issues of interest to security guards.
Magtubo confirmed that he will attend the security guards forum. He added that “It would be interesting to debate with Mikey about his allegations that he is the voice of the security guards as a marginalized group. If Mikey does not honor the invitation of the security guards then it can only because he does wish to be exposed as a fake.”
Rosete stated that they were surprised by the existence of Arroyo’s party-list group of security guards and they were ignorant of the latter’s qualifications as a nominee. “The forum will be an opportunity for my fellow security guards to ask questions of Mikey Arroyo. We will ask him about his stance on the long hours of work, the low wages and the lack of security of tenure of many security guards. We want to hear what laws he will enact to protect the rights and welfare of security guards. We wish to know if he will push for the organizing of security guards into associations so we can defend our economic and social interests,” Rosete clarified.
Magtubo insisted that security guards are a sub-sector of the working class and that “PM has acted as the political party of workers, including security guards, inside Congress and the parliament of the streets. PM’s platform of ‘Apat na Dapat’ responds to the most important grievances of security guards. The ‘Apat na Dapat’ means regular jobs, a living wage, affordable housing and healthcare coverage for all workers, which incidentally are also the demands of security guards.”
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Security guards challenge Mikey Arroyo on platform and track record
Press Release
April 11, 2010
A group of security guards is planning to invite Rep. Mikey Arroyo to a forum and are challenging him to present his electoral platform and track record. Pilo Rosete, a licensed security guard with more than 15 years of work experience in the field, said that “We wish to hear what Mikey Arroyo can say as a supposed advocate of security guards. And we want him to face-off with Renato Magtubo of Partido ng Manggagawa and ex-General Danny Lim who we know have both an electoral platform and track record of advocacy for security guards.”
Meanwhile Magtubo, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chairperson, accepted the proposal to meet Arroyo in a forum to be organized by security guards. “We accept the challenge to a debate with Mikey. The security guards as a subsector of the working class with their own workplace grievances surely deserve to have representatives in Congress who share their concerns and not impostors just out to use them.”
Rosete explained that they are already organizing the security guards forum although they have not firmed up details such as date and venue. He asked for the help of the media in informing Arroyo of the forum but they plan to send a formal invitation once the details of the forum are finalized. They have already sent feelers to Magtubo and Lim about the planned forum.
He said that security guards are very much concerned about the issue of Arroyo’s party-list bid as a supposed representative of their sector. “We know that Mikey has never experienced the grueling 12-hour shifts that we normally do and surviving on minimum wages. We have also learned that he did not file any document proving a track record of advocacy for security guards. Moreover no security guard I have met has any knowledge of Mikey’s group Ang Galing Pinoy. Our work as security guards usually involve protecting property from being stolen by thieves thus we also do not want our voice to be robbed by frauds.”
Rosete also clarified that the organizing committee for the forum is not a formal group but just an adhoc caucus of employed security guards and some recently laidoff. He elaborated that the freedom to organize is actually one of the major issues of security guards since many attempts to unionize guards in order to protect their rights and welfare have met fierce opposition from security agencies.
“Our group remains an adhoc caucus but our vision is to form an association of security guards for mutual aid and protection. Many of the owners of security agencies are former generals and officers in the armed forces with connections among influential people thus it is easy enough to intimate union organizers. Probably Mikey’s only tenuous connection with security guards is his friendship with our employers, owners of security agencies, who are in no way a marginalized sector,” Rosete argued.
April 11, 2010
A group of security guards is planning to invite Rep. Mikey Arroyo to a forum and are challenging him to present his electoral platform and track record. Pilo Rosete, a licensed security guard with more than 15 years of work experience in the field, said that “We wish to hear what Mikey Arroyo can say as a supposed advocate of security guards. And we want him to face-off with Renato Magtubo of Partido ng Manggagawa and ex-General Danny Lim who we know have both an electoral platform and track record of advocacy for security guards.”
Meanwhile Magtubo, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chairperson, accepted the proposal to meet Arroyo in a forum to be organized by security guards. “We accept the challenge to a debate with Mikey. The security guards as a subsector of the working class with their own workplace grievances surely deserve to have representatives in Congress who share their concerns and not impostors just out to use them.”
Rosete explained that they are already organizing the security guards forum although they have not firmed up details such as date and venue. He asked for the help of the media in informing Arroyo of the forum but they plan to send a formal invitation once the details of the forum are finalized. They have already sent feelers to Magtubo and Lim about the planned forum.
He said that security guards are very much concerned about the issue of Arroyo’s party-list bid as a supposed representative of their sector. “We know that Mikey has never experienced the grueling 12-hour shifts that we normally do and surviving on minimum wages. We have also learned that he did not file any document proving a track record of advocacy for security guards. Moreover no security guard I have met has any knowledge of Mikey’s group Ang Galing Pinoy. Our work as security guards usually involve protecting property from being stolen by thieves thus we also do not want our voice to be robbed by frauds.”
Rosete also clarified that the organizing committee for the forum is not a formal group but just an adhoc caucus of employed security guards and some recently laidoff. He elaborated that the freedom to organize is actually one of the major issues of security guards since many attempts to unionize guards in order to protect their rights and welfare have met fierce opposition from security agencies.
“Our group remains an adhoc caucus but our vision is to form an association of security guards for mutual aid and protection. Many of the owners of security agencies are former generals and officers in the armed forces with connections among influential people thus it is easy enough to intimate union organizers. Probably Mikey’s only tenuous connection with security guards is his friendship with our employers, owners of security agencies, who are in no way a marginalized sector,” Rosete argued.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Labor party-list asks Mikey to follow his aunt, withdraw as party-list nominee
Press Release
March 30, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) is asking Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo to follow the lead of his aunt Kasangga Rep. Malou Arroyo-Lesaca who announced her withdrawal as a party-list nominee. “Ang ginagawa ng matatanda dapat gayahin ng mga bata. The decent nephew follows the good example of an aunt. So we dare Mikey to do a Malou and pull-out as a party-list nominee,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
He added that “It is an honorable option for assailed party-list nominees to pull-out from the elections rather than be shamed as fakes and face disqualification. A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary.”
PM together with several other party-list groups are preparing to file disqualification cases against certain nominees. “The party-list system is stricken with a virus and it must be cleansed. It is the vigilance of genuine groups and the concerned public that will heal the disease,” argued Magtubo.
PM also declared that they will push in the next Congress for an amendment to the Party-List Act to plug the loopholes that have led to alleged abuses. The labor group is consulting with other party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for marginalized sectors.
The group submitted its list of five nominees to the Comelec main office last March 24, a day after the end of PM’s congress that elected its nominees from more than a hundred delegates. “In compliance with the letter and spirit of the party-list law, PM’s five nominees truly represent the working class. They include three union officers with decades of experience as unionists and two former student activists who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.
He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20 to 30 million compared to the P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”
In order, the five PM nominees are:
1. Renato Magtubo: former president of the Fortune Tobacco Labor Union
2. Gerardo Rivera: recently elected president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association
3. Judy Ann Miranda: former UP student council officer who went full time as working class organizer
4. Wilson Fortaleza: former student activist who also went full time as working class organizer
5. Ma. Luisa Parroco: vice president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative employees union.
March 30, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) is asking Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo to follow the lead of his aunt Kasangga Rep. Malou Arroyo-Lesaca who announced her withdrawal as a party-list nominee. “Ang ginagawa ng matatanda dapat gayahin ng mga bata. The decent nephew follows the good example of an aunt. So we dare Mikey to do a Malou and pull-out as a party-list nominee,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
He added that “It is an honorable option for assailed party-list nominees to pull-out from the elections rather than be shamed as fakes and face disqualification. A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary.”
PM together with several other party-list groups are preparing to file disqualification cases against certain nominees. “The party-list system is stricken with a virus and it must be cleansed. It is the vigilance of genuine groups and the concerned public that will heal the disease,” argued Magtubo.
PM also declared that they will push in the next Congress for an amendment to the Party-List Act to plug the loopholes that have led to alleged abuses. The labor group is consulting with other party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for marginalized sectors.
The group submitted its list of five nominees to the Comelec main office last March 24, a day after the end of PM’s congress that elected its nominees from more than a hundred delegates. “In compliance with the letter and spirit of the party-list law, PM’s five nominees truly represent the working class. They include three union officers with decades of experience as unionists and two former student activists who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.
He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20 to 30 million compared to the P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”
In order, the five PM nominees are:
1. Renato Magtubo: former president of the Fortune Tobacco Labor Union
2. Gerardo Rivera: recently elected president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association
3. Judy Ann Miranda: former UP student council officer who went full time as working class organizer
4. Wilson Fortaleza: former student activist who also went full time as working class organizer
5. Ma. Luisa Parroco: vice president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative employees union.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Party-list campaigns on RH platform, dares Buhay’s Velarde to a debate
Press Release
March 29, 2010
Amidst the electoral carnival that puts a premium on personalities rather than platforms, the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) enters the second half of the national campaign by stressing its advocacies on issues such as the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. As an example of its platform-based campaign, PM held today an assembly of more than a hundred urban poor women in a depressed community in Quezon City in which reproductive health was the main agenda.
While discussing the RH bill, Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general and a nominee of the group, issued a challenge to El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde for a debate on the issue. The dare was in reaction to Velarde’s announcement that he decided to run as a party-list nominee in order to oppose the RH bill.
Miranda announced that “So that the voters can have an informed choice for the party-list based on platforms, we are open to a public discussion on the Reproductive Health bill with Velarde as Buhay nominee.”
PM also expressed its support for the plan to teach sex education in the public schools. Miranda said that “In the context of fighting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and preventing teenage pregnancies, teaching sex education to the youth is a no-brainer. This is a topic that cannot be left only to parents and their children since this is also a public concern given the social dimensions of the issues.”
PM is the group that presented baskets of condoms to the Catholic Bishops Conference Office last March 8. PM is running for the party-list elections on a platform of “Apat ng Dapat” which includes working class concerns such as universal healthcare coverage, regular jobs, affordable housing and a wage hike.
“Similar to the planned debate between Health Secretary Cabral and the Catholic bishops, a public discussion between PM and Buhay on the pros and cons of the RH bill will educate the public in general and the voters in particular. A debate on issues is certainly much better for the voters than being entertained by dancing girls on stage or being barraged by self-serving political ads,” insisted Miranda.
In a preview of her position in a debate, Miranda added that “Reproductive health is not a moral issue but a public health concern of women. Women must have the freedom to make informed choices concerning their bodies and their welfare.”
Miranda is a former UP Manila student council officer with two decades of experience as organizer of workers and the urban poor. The other nominees of PM are Renato Magtubo, former union president of Fortune Tobacco; Gerry Rivera, current president of PAL Employees Association; Wilson Fortaleza, former student activist who also became an organizer; and Malou Parroco, union vice-president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative.
March 29, 2010
Amidst the electoral carnival that puts a premium on personalities rather than platforms, the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) enters the second half of the national campaign by stressing its advocacies on issues such as the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. As an example of its platform-based campaign, PM held today an assembly of more than a hundred urban poor women in a depressed community in Quezon City in which reproductive health was the main agenda.
While discussing the RH bill, Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general and a nominee of the group, issued a challenge to El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde for a debate on the issue. The dare was in reaction to Velarde’s announcement that he decided to run as a party-list nominee in order to oppose the RH bill.
Miranda announced that “So that the voters can have an informed choice for the party-list based on platforms, we are open to a public discussion on the Reproductive Health bill with Velarde as Buhay nominee.”
PM also expressed its support for the plan to teach sex education in the public schools. Miranda said that “In the context of fighting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and preventing teenage pregnancies, teaching sex education to the youth is a no-brainer. This is a topic that cannot be left only to parents and their children since this is also a public concern given the social dimensions of the issues.”
PM is the group that presented baskets of condoms to the Catholic Bishops Conference Office last March 8. PM is running for the party-list elections on a platform of “Apat ng Dapat” which includes working class concerns such as universal healthcare coverage, regular jobs, affordable housing and a wage hike.
“Similar to the planned debate between Health Secretary Cabral and the Catholic bishops, a public discussion between PM and Buhay on the pros and cons of the RH bill will educate the public in general and the voters in particular. A debate on issues is certainly much better for the voters than being entertained by dancing girls on stage or being barraged by self-serving political ads,” insisted Miranda.
In a preview of her position in a debate, Miranda added that “Reproductive health is not a moral issue but a public health concern of women. Women must have the freedom to make informed choices concerning their bodies and their welfare.”
Miranda is a former UP Manila student council officer with two decades of experience as organizer of workers and the urban poor. The other nominees of PM are Renato Magtubo, former union president of Fortune Tobacco; Gerry Rivera, current president of PAL Employees Association; Wilson Fortaleza, former student activist who also became an organizer; and Malou Parroco, union vice-president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Party-list nominees challenge Mike Velarde to debate on RH
Press Release
March 25, 2010
In reaction to El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde’s announcement that he decided to run as a party-list nominee in order to oppose the Reproductive Health bill, the two women nominees of the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today declared that they are challenging him to a debate on the issue. “So that the voters can have an informed choice for the party-list based on platforms, we are open to a public discussion on the Reproductive Health bill with Velarde as Buhay nominee,” announced Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general and a nominee of the group.
PM is the group that presented baskets of condoms to the Catholic Bishops Conference Office last March 8 as part of their advocacy for reproductive health. PM is running for the party-list elections on a platform of “Apat ng Dapat” which includes working women’s concerns such as universal healthcare coverage, regular jobs, affordable housing and a wage hike.
“Similar to the planned debate between Health Secretary Cabral and the Catholic bishops, a public discussion between PM and Buhay on the pros and cons of the Reproductive Health bill will educate the public in general and the voters in particular. A debate on issues is certainly much better for the voters than being entertained by dancing girls on stage or being barraged by self-serving political ads,” insisted Malou Parroco, another PM nominee based in Bacolod. Parroco said that the debate with Velarde could be held either in Manila with Miranda or in Visayas with her.
In a preview of her position in a debate, Parroco added that “Reproductive health is not a moral issue but a public health concern of women. Women must have the freedom to make informed choices concerning their bodies and their welfare.”
While PM supports Sec. Cabral in her initiative to distribute condoms, the group is asking the Department of Health to make the distribution of contraceptives not just a publicity stunt but a regular program via the barangay health centers. “The public provision of contraceptives should go hand in hand with education on prevention of HIV-AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and teenage pregnancies among others,” Miranda clarified.
PM also expressed its support for the plan to teach sex education in the public schools. Miranda said that “In the context of fighting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and preventing teenage pregnancies, teaching sex education to the youth is a no-brainer. This is a topic that cannot be left to parents and their children since this is also a public concern given the social dimensions of the issues.”
Miranda is a former UP Manila student council officer with two decades of experience as organizer of workers and the urban poor while Parroco is union vice-president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative. The other nominees of PM are Renato Magtubo, former union president of Fortune Tobacco; Gerry Rivera, current president of PAL Employees Association and Wilson Fortaleza, former student activist who also became an organizer.
March 25, 2010
In reaction to El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde’s announcement that he decided to run as a party-list nominee in order to oppose the Reproductive Health bill, the two women nominees of the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today declared that they are challenging him to a debate on the issue. “So that the voters can have an informed choice for the party-list based on platforms, we are open to a public discussion on the Reproductive Health bill with Velarde as Buhay nominee,” announced Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general and a nominee of the group.
PM is the group that presented baskets of condoms to the Catholic Bishops Conference Office last March 8 as part of their advocacy for reproductive health. PM is running for the party-list elections on a platform of “Apat ng Dapat” which includes working women’s concerns such as universal healthcare coverage, regular jobs, affordable housing and a wage hike.
“Similar to the planned debate between Health Secretary Cabral and the Catholic bishops, a public discussion between PM and Buhay on the pros and cons of the Reproductive Health bill will educate the public in general and the voters in particular. A debate on issues is certainly much better for the voters than being entertained by dancing girls on stage or being barraged by self-serving political ads,” insisted Malou Parroco, another PM nominee based in Bacolod. Parroco said that the debate with Velarde could be held either in Manila with Miranda or in Visayas with her.
In a preview of her position in a debate, Parroco added that “Reproductive health is not a moral issue but a public health concern of women. Women must have the freedom to make informed choices concerning their bodies and their welfare.”
While PM supports Sec. Cabral in her initiative to distribute condoms, the group is asking the Department of Health to make the distribution of contraceptives not just a publicity stunt but a regular program via the barangay health centers. “The public provision of contraceptives should go hand in hand with education on prevention of HIV-AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and teenage pregnancies among others,” Miranda clarified.
PM also expressed its support for the plan to teach sex education in the public schools. Miranda said that “In the context of fighting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and preventing teenage pregnancies, teaching sex education to the youth is a no-brainer. This is a topic that cannot be left to parents and their children since this is also a public concern given the social dimensions of the issues.”
Miranda is a former UP Manila student council officer with two decades of experience as organizer of workers and the urban poor while Parroco is union vice-president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative. The other nominees of PM are Renato Magtubo, former union president of Fortune Tobacco; Gerry Rivera, current president of PAL Employees Association and Wilson Fortaleza, former student activist who also became an organizer.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Labor party-list to move for disqualification once nominees are revealed
Press Release
March 24, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) is preparing to file disqualification cases against alleged bogus party-list groups based once the list of nominees is officially released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on March 27. The group also welcomed the announcement by the Comelec that it will issue a guideline on party-list nominees.
“The party-list system is stricken with a virus and it must be cleansed. Comelec’s belated prescription may help disinfect the party-list system but it is the vigilance of genuine groups and the concerned public that will heal the disease,” argued Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
The group submitted its list of five nominees to the Comelec main office in Intramuros at noon today, a day after the end of PM’s congress that elected its nominees from more than a hundred delegates. The group went to the Comelec while wearing face masks to symbolize its call to cleanse the party-list system. Scores of delegates accompanied PM’s nominees and held posters with the message “Disinfect the party-list system” and “Linisin ang sistemang party-list.”
“In compliance with the letter and spirit of the party-list law, PM’s five nominees truly represent the working class. They include three union officers with decades of experience as unionists and two former student activists who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.
He added that “A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary.”
The labor group is also holding consultations with other genuine party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for traditionally marginalized sectors. PM also declared that they will push in the next Congress for an amendment to the Party-List Law to plug the loopholes that have led to alleged abuses.
He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20 to 30 million compared to the P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”
In order, the five PM nominees are:
1. Renato Magtubo: former president of the Fortune Tobacco Labor Union
2. Gerardo Rivera: recently elected president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association
3. Judy Ann Miranda: former UP student council officer who went full time as working class organizer
4. Wilson Fortaleza: former student activist who also went full time as working class organizer
5. Ma. Luisa Parroco: vice president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative employees union.
March 24, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) is preparing to file disqualification cases against alleged bogus party-list groups based once the list of nominees is officially released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on March 27. The group also welcomed the announcement by the Comelec that it will issue a guideline on party-list nominees.
“The party-list system is stricken with a virus and it must be cleansed. Comelec’s belated prescription may help disinfect the party-list system but it is the vigilance of genuine groups and the concerned public that will heal the disease,” argued Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
The group submitted its list of five nominees to the Comelec main office in Intramuros at noon today, a day after the end of PM’s congress that elected its nominees from more than a hundred delegates. The group went to the Comelec while wearing face masks to symbolize its call to cleanse the party-list system. Scores of delegates accompanied PM’s nominees and held posters with the message “Disinfect the party-list system” and “Linisin ang sistemang party-list.”
“In compliance with the letter and spirit of the party-list law, PM’s five nominees truly represent the working class. They include three union officers with decades of experience as unionists and two former student activists who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.
He added that “A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary.”
The labor group is also holding consultations with other genuine party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for traditionally marginalized sectors. PM also declared that they will push in the next Congress for an amendment to the Party-List Law to plug the loopholes that have led to alleged abuses.
He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20 to 30 million compared to the P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”
In order, the five PM nominees are:
1. Renato Magtubo: former president of the Fortune Tobacco Labor Union
2. Gerardo Rivera: recently elected president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association
3. Judy Ann Miranda: former UP student council officer who went full time as working class organizer
4. Wilson Fortaleza: former student activist who also went full time as working class organizer
5. Ma. Luisa Parroco: vice president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative employees union.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Presidentiables asked for jobs policy as unemployment to rise with new graduates
Press Release
March 23, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) challenged the presidentiables to reveal their jobs policy as unemployment is expected to rise by April with the influx of new graduates to the labor force.
“We ask the presidentiables to present a jobs policy that will address the grave problem of unemployment in general and youth joblessness in particular Of the estimated half a million graduates this March, more than 90,000 will not be able to find work despite investing four or five years and a fortune in a college education,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
Magtubo issued his challenge during the PM national congress that is being held at the Oblates Missionary Center in Quezon City. The two-day congress ends today with the election of five nominees from among 120 delegates from different chapters nationwide.
Magtubo based his assertion on the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) April 2005 unemployment data of 18.5% for graduates. “Despite possessing a shiny new college diploma, graduates are only marginally better off than undergraduates whose unemployment rate is 21%,” he added.
To generate decent jobs, PM is advocating a short-term program of massive public employment program and a long-term reorientation of economic and trade policy away from liberalization. “The present emergency employment program must be made more widespread to employ millions but should also be reformed. People’s organizations not local politicians must administer the public employment program so that it will not be used for patronage and it must promote decent work instead of worsening contractualization. But a strategic jobs policy demands the political will to reverse liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and to uphold domestic industry and agriculture,” Magtubo explained.
Magtubo furthered that “The graduates of 2010 are only 12% of the 100 school age kids approximately 14 years ago who have survived the education system. Of these 12 out of 100, seven will take a licensure exam but only three will pass. Of the three, only one will find profession that fits his or her education. The rest will find work that has nothing to do with their college course.”
March 23, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) challenged the presidentiables to reveal their jobs policy as unemployment is expected to rise by April with the influx of new graduates to the labor force.
“We ask the presidentiables to present a jobs policy that will address the grave problem of unemployment in general and youth joblessness in particular Of the estimated half a million graduates this March, more than 90,000 will not be able to find work despite investing four or five years and a fortune in a college education,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
Magtubo issued his challenge during the PM national congress that is being held at the Oblates Missionary Center in Quezon City. The two-day congress ends today with the election of five nominees from among 120 delegates from different chapters nationwide.
Magtubo based his assertion on the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) April 2005 unemployment data of 18.5% for graduates. “Despite possessing a shiny new college diploma, graduates are only marginally better off than undergraduates whose unemployment rate is 21%,” he added.
To generate decent jobs, PM is advocating a short-term program of massive public employment program and a long-term reorientation of economic and trade policy away from liberalization. “The present emergency employment program must be made more widespread to employ millions but should also be reformed. People’s organizations not local politicians must administer the public employment program so that it will not be used for patronage and it must promote decent work instead of worsening contractualization. But a strategic jobs policy demands the political will to reverse liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and to uphold domestic industry and agriculture,” Magtubo explained.
Magtubo furthered that “The graduates of 2010 are only 12% of the 100 school age kids approximately 14 years ago who have survived the education system. Of these 12 out of 100, seven will take a licensure exam but only three will pass. Of the three, only one will find profession that fits his or her education. The rest will find work that has nothing to do with their college course.”
Monday, March 22, 2010
Labor party-list asks bogus party-lists to withdraw rather than be exposed
Press Release
March 22, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on alleged bogus party-list groups to voluntarily withdraw rather than face exposure in the face of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reminder than nominees must be disclosed no later than March 26.
“It is a better option for assailed party-list groups to pull-out from the elections rather than be revealed as fakes come March 26 and later face disqualification. A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary,” argued Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
PM is preparing to file disqualification cases against alleged bogus party-list groups once the list of nominees is released by the Comelec on March 27. The labor group is also holding consultations with other party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for traditionally marginalized sectors. PM also declared that they will push for an amendment to the Party-List Law to make it mandatory for the Comelec to release the list of nominees.
Magtubo announced that PM will be submitting its list of nominees on the morning of Wednesday, the day after its congress ends. PM is presently holding in Quezon City a two-day congress which will elect five nominees ranked in order from among delegates from chapters across the country.
He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20-30 million compared to P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”
“In compliance with the letter and spirit of the constitution and party-list law, we will be choosing nominees who truly represent the working class. Without pre-empting the congress, PM’s five nominees can only be union officers, community leaders or former students who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.
March 22, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on alleged bogus party-list groups to voluntarily withdraw rather than face exposure in the face of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reminder than nominees must be disclosed no later than March 26.
“It is a better option for assailed party-list groups to pull-out from the elections rather than be revealed as fakes come March 26 and later face disqualification. A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary,” argued Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
PM is preparing to file disqualification cases against alleged bogus party-list groups once the list of nominees is released by the Comelec on March 27. The labor group is also holding consultations with other party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for traditionally marginalized sectors. PM also declared that they will push for an amendment to the Party-List Law to make it mandatory for the Comelec to release the list of nominees.
Magtubo announced that PM will be submitting its list of nominees on the morning of Wednesday, the day after its congress ends. PM is presently holding in Quezon City a two-day congress which will elect five nominees ranked in order from among delegates from chapters across the country.
He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20-30 million compared to P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”
“In compliance with the letter and spirit of the constitution and party-list law, we will be choosing nominees who truly represent the working class. Without pre-empting the congress, PM’s five nominees can only be union officers, community leaders or former students who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Labor party-list warns joblessness awaits graduates
Press Release
March 17, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) warned that joblessness awaits the new graduates who will be entering the labor force come April. “Of the estimated half a million graduates this March, more than 90,000 will not be able to find work despite investing four or five years and a fortune in a college education. We challenge the presidentiables to present a jobs policy that will address the grave problem of unemployment in general and youth joblessness in particular,” stated Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
Magtubo’s figures are a projection of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) April 2005 unemployment data of 18.5% for graduates. “Despite possessing a shiny new college diploma, graduates are only marginally better off than undergraduates whose unemployment rate is 21%,” he added.
PM meanwhile criticized the latest NSO employment figures for “propagating myths instead of truths.” Magtubo argued that “Unemployment has been kept magically low by removing from the labor force those who have already been discouraged from looking for work and even those who keep on looking for work but have not found any for more than six months. Starting in 2005, by a mere redefinition of terms, one million Filipinos have been taken off from the unemployment rolls and the government can claim that unemployment has come down from the historical average of 10% to the current 7%.”
PM is advocating a short-term program of massive public employment program and a long-term reorientation of economic and trade policy away from liberalization to generate decent jobs. “The present emergency employment program must be made more widespread to employ millions but should also be reformed. People’s organizations not local politicians must administer the public employment program so that it will not be used for patronage and it must promote decent work instead of worsening contractualization. But a strategic jobs policy demands the political will to reverse liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and to uphold domestic industry and agriculture,” Magtubo said.
Magtubo furthered that “The graduates of 2010 are only 12% of the 100 school age kids approximately 14 years ago who have survived the education system. Of these 12 out of 100, seven will take a licensure exam but only three will pass. Of the three, only one will find profession that fits his or her education. The rest will find work that has nothing to do with their college course.”
PM is calling on the youth and the graduates to be critical and vote for candidates who have a concrete program to address unemployment. The party-list group is campaigning on a platform of “Apat na Dapat,” which means regular jobs, decent wages, affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage.
March 17, 2010
The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) warned that joblessness awaits the new graduates who will be entering the labor force come April. “Of the estimated half a million graduates this March, more than 90,000 will not be able to find work despite investing four or five years and a fortune in a college education. We challenge the presidentiables to present a jobs policy that will address the grave problem of unemployment in general and youth joblessness in particular,” stated Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.
Magtubo’s figures are a projection of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) April 2005 unemployment data of 18.5% for graduates. “Despite possessing a shiny new college diploma, graduates are only marginally better off than undergraduates whose unemployment rate is 21%,” he added.
PM meanwhile criticized the latest NSO employment figures for “propagating myths instead of truths.” Magtubo argued that “Unemployment has been kept magically low by removing from the labor force those who have already been discouraged from looking for work and even those who keep on looking for work but have not found any for more than six months. Starting in 2005, by a mere redefinition of terms, one million Filipinos have been taken off from the unemployment rolls and the government can claim that unemployment has come down from the historical average of 10% to the current 7%.”
PM is advocating a short-term program of massive public employment program and a long-term reorientation of economic and trade policy away from liberalization to generate decent jobs. “The present emergency employment program must be made more widespread to employ millions but should also be reformed. People’s organizations not local politicians must administer the public employment program so that it will not be used for patronage and it must promote decent work instead of worsening contractualization. But a strategic jobs policy demands the political will to reverse liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and to uphold domestic industry and agriculture,” Magtubo said.
Magtubo furthered that “The graduates of 2010 are only 12% of the 100 school age kids approximately 14 years ago who have survived the education system. Of these 12 out of 100, seven will take a licensure exam but only three will pass. Of the three, only one will find profession that fits his or her education. The rest will find work that has nothing to do with their college course.”
PM is calling on the youth and the graduates to be critical and vote for candidates who have a concrete program to address unemployment. The party-list group is campaigning on a platform of “Apat na Dapat,” which means regular jobs, decent wages, affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Message of Solidarity to the Filipino Migrant Teachers Assembly
February 6, 2010
The Partido ng Manggagawa extends the long arm of workers solidarity to the Filipino Migrant Teachers Assembly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As the independent working class party in the Philippines, we congratulate the valiant Filipino teachers who have waged the good fight to right what is wrong and defend the welfare of migrant workers in the US.
Now you stand on the threshold of taking the next big step in the fight for migrant rights and welfare. Forming a migrant teachers and workers organization is the necessary and logical level up in the continuing struggle. We wish you success in this initiative and endeavor.
Establishing an organization of Filipino migrant teachers and workers in the US consolidates the hard-fought and well-deserved gains and victories in the course of more than a year of struggle. It also prepares the courageous Filipino migrant teachers for the decisive battle to win the case against an oppressive illegal recruiter. And moreover it paves the road and points for way for the far bigger battle of gaining a voice and winning reforms for Filipino migrant workers in the US.
Forming an organization of Filipino migrant teachers and workers in the US comes at an opportune time. In the US, the Obama administration that came to power on a platform of hope and change is just a year old. In the Philippines, it is the eve of the national elections that will end the unpopular regime of Gloria Arroyo. A vibrant migrant organization in partnership with strong labor movements should challenge the promises of the present administration in the US and the coming regime in the Philippines.
As any migrant worker who has left the country in search not so much of greener pastures but simply of a better job, elections in the Philippines are more in the nature of an entertaining circus and noisy fiesta rather than springboards for real reform or even discussion of issues. Yet the crisis of the ruling system in the Philippines has opened up windows of opportunities however small, such as the party-list system, for determined labor advocates to gain voice and representation.
Also in the US, the economic recession is casting away illusions and opening up the eyes of the working people about the nature of capitalism, the excesses of globalization, the need for an alternative America and the possibility of a new world. Amidst the struggle for health care, immigration reform and pro-labor change, a revitalized American workers movement may be forged with the voice of migrant labor firmly embedded.
The prospects for expanding and consolidating a Filipino migrant teachers and workers organization are good. Under the new context, it will hopefully be immunized against the virus of disunity and fragmentation that has historically debilitated Filipino-American organizations. As long the principles of democratic processes and unity in action are practiced not just preached, as long as a long-term political vision for social change imbues the immediate fight for labor rights and welfare, then we believe the road less travelled by that you have taken as migrant workers will make all the difference.
The Partido ng Manggagawa extends the long arm of workers solidarity to the Filipino Migrant Teachers Assembly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As the independent working class party in the Philippines, we congratulate the valiant Filipino teachers who have waged the good fight to right what is wrong and defend the welfare of migrant workers in the US.
Now you stand on the threshold of taking the next big step in the fight for migrant rights and welfare. Forming a migrant teachers and workers organization is the necessary and logical level up in the continuing struggle. We wish you success in this initiative and endeavor.
Establishing an organization of Filipino migrant teachers and workers in the US consolidates the hard-fought and well-deserved gains and victories in the course of more than a year of struggle. It also prepares the courageous Filipino migrant teachers for the decisive battle to win the case against an oppressive illegal recruiter. And moreover it paves the road and points for way for the far bigger battle of gaining a voice and winning reforms for Filipino migrant workers in the US.
Forming an organization of Filipino migrant teachers and workers in the US comes at an opportune time. In the US, the Obama administration that came to power on a platform of hope and change is just a year old. In the Philippines, it is the eve of the national elections that will end the unpopular regime of Gloria Arroyo. A vibrant migrant organization in partnership with strong labor movements should challenge the promises of the present administration in the US and the coming regime in the Philippines.
As any migrant worker who has left the country in search not so much of greener pastures but simply of a better job, elections in the Philippines are more in the nature of an entertaining circus and noisy fiesta rather than springboards for real reform or even discussion of issues. Yet the crisis of the ruling system in the Philippines has opened up windows of opportunities however small, such as the party-list system, for determined labor advocates to gain voice and representation.
Also in the US, the economic recession is casting away illusions and opening up the eyes of the working people about the nature of capitalism, the excesses of globalization, the need for an alternative America and the possibility of a new world. Amidst the struggle for health care, immigration reform and pro-labor change, a revitalized American workers movement may be forged with the voice of migrant labor firmly embedded.
The prospects for expanding and consolidating a Filipino migrant teachers and workers organization are good. Under the new context, it will hopefully be immunized against the virus of disunity and fragmentation that has historically debilitated Filipino-American organizations. As long the principles of democratic processes and unity in action are practiced not just preached, as long as a long-term political vision for social change imbues the immediate fight for labor rights and welfare, then we believe the road less travelled by that you have taken as migrant workers will make all the difference.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Labor party-list pickets Comelec to expedite case re acronym
Press Release
February 8, 2010
On the eve of the campaign period for the national elections, the labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) picketed the Comelec main office to urge the poll body to immediately decide on the exclusive use of the acronym “PM.” “We appeal to the Comelec to expedite hearings and issue a decision before ballots are printed,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.
Last Friday, the labor party-list filed a manifestation with the Comelec, docketed as SPP 10-006 (PL), with a prayer to prohibit a newly accredited party-list from using the acronym “PM.” The group found out that in the Certified List of Candidates for Party List posted on the COMELEC website on January 30, 2010 at 3pm that the acronym of Pasang Masda was indicated as “PM.” Partido ng Manggagawa is arguing that the use of the same acronym ‘PM’ by two groups will confuse the voters.
The day before it filed the manifestation, PM also sent a letter addressed to Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department and Chairman Jose Melo asking the poll body to compel Pasang Masda to change the acronym it used. Miranda added that “We expect the Comelec to correct the mistake before the official ballots are printed. ‘PM’ is an acronym that has been registered with the Partido ng Manggagawa for almost a decade now, used during elections or not, inside the House of Representatives and in the parliament of the streets.”
“The use of the same acronym ‘PM’ by both Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will utterly confuse the voters. Voters shading their ballots will easily make a mistake since Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will be adjacent to each other on the roll of party-list groups,” insisted Miranda.
In both the letter and the manifestation to the Comelec, the labor party-list argued that “PM” for the last 2001, 2004 and 2007 elections has been the acronym of Partido ng Manggagawa printed in the COMELEC official ballots. Also it stated that Renato Magtubo was proclaimed, sworn in and recognized by the 12th and 13th Congress as Partido ng Manggagawa-PM Party List representative.
Partido ng Manggagawa believes that Pasang Masda was one of many party-list groups accredited after appeal since it was not part of the original Comelec certified list of 144 last January 15. The labor party-list is also raising an issue on the propriety of the accredited party-list groups suddenly ballooning by 30% to 187.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, meanwhile called on Pasang Masda to change the acronym “PM” which it used in its registration with the Comelec for the party-list election. “Don’t overtake is a minor traffic rule that we expect Pasang Masda to follow. Partido ng Manggagawa is ahead of Pasang Masda as far as driving on the party-list road is concerned and PM has been our vehicle since the 2001 elections,” he stated.
February 8, 2010
On the eve of the campaign period for the national elections, the labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) picketed the Comelec main office to urge the poll body to immediately decide on the exclusive use of the acronym “PM.” “We appeal to the Comelec to expedite hearings and issue a decision before ballots are printed,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.
Last Friday, the labor party-list filed a manifestation with the Comelec, docketed as SPP 10-006 (PL), with a prayer to prohibit a newly accredited party-list from using the acronym “PM.” The group found out that in the Certified List of Candidates for Party List posted on the COMELEC website on January 30, 2010 at 3pm that the acronym of Pasang Masda was indicated as “PM.” Partido ng Manggagawa is arguing that the use of the same acronym ‘PM’ by two groups will confuse the voters.
The day before it filed the manifestation, PM also sent a letter addressed to Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department and Chairman Jose Melo asking the poll body to compel Pasang Masda to change the acronym it used. Miranda added that “We expect the Comelec to correct the mistake before the official ballots are printed. ‘PM’ is an acronym that has been registered with the Partido ng Manggagawa for almost a decade now, used during elections or not, inside the House of Representatives and in the parliament of the streets.”
“The use of the same acronym ‘PM’ by both Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will utterly confuse the voters. Voters shading their ballots will easily make a mistake since Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will be adjacent to each other on the roll of party-list groups,” insisted Miranda.
In both the letter and the manifestation to the Comelec, the labor party-list argued that “PM” for the last 2001, 2004 and 2007 elections has been the acronym of Partido ng Manggagawa printed in the COMELEC official ballots. Also it stated that Renato Magtubo was proclaimed, sworn in and recognized by the 12th and 13th Congress as Partido ng Manggagawa-PM Party List representative.
Partido ng Manggagawa believes that Pasang Masda was one of many party-list groups accredited after appeal since it was not part of the original Comelec certified list of 144 last January 15. The labor party-list is also raising an issue on the propriety of the accredited party-list groups suddenly ballooning by 30% to 187.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, meanwhile called on Pasang Masda to change the acronym “PM” which it used in its registration with the Comelec for the party-list election. “Don’t overtake is a minor traffic rule that we expect Pasang Masda to follow. Partido ng Manggagawa is ahead of Pasang Masda as far as driving on the party-list road is concerned and PM has been our vehicle since the 2001 elections,” he stated.
10 years of failed labor justice under the Arroyo regime
PRESS RELEASE
5 February 2010
Labor justice is a failed agenda under the 10-year rule of the Arroyo administration, a militant labor partylist group, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said in a statement sent to media as the party commemorates the 10th year death anniversary of its founder, the late Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman, tomorrow.
Lagman was gunned down at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman on February 6, 2001, barely two months after Mrs. Arroyo assumed power through a popular uprising and thus considered the first case of extra-judicial killing under the Arroyo government that remains unsolved.
PM chair Renato Magtubo even recalled that Mrs. Arroyo in her 2001 Labor Day speech vowed to solve the Lagman case in her first 100 days in office and instructed all concerned law enforcement agencies to coordinate and go after the killers.
“Now it’s not just 100 days but an agonizing 10 years of failed justice for Ka Popoy and for many other victims who suffered the same fate under this corrupt and repressive regime,” said Magtubo.
The Partido ng Manggagawa was Lagman’s last project before his death. PM is a sectoral group running for the partylist elections.
He was also behind the formation of other militant groups such as the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and the multisectoral group Sanlakas. It was also Lagman who then pursued the “Resigh All” line calling not only for the resignation of President Estrada but also of Mrs. Arroyo, believing that a mere change in the face of the next rulers will never solve the country’s chronic problems.
“In few more months, GMA will leave the presidency with the Lagman murder still unsolved and the conditions of the working class in the country gone from bad to worse. Our challenge to the next administration is to make labor justice an urgent agenda and policies aligned towards this platform,” declared
Labor justice, according to PM, is not only about justice for the unsolved killings under the Arroyo regime but most importantly, is a change in policies that for the longest time have undermined the rights and welfare of the working class.
The current minimum wage of Filipino workers is way below the needed family wage as mandated by the Constitution. Filipinos have also the least social security protections compared with their counterparts abroad. As a result, some 3,000 workers leave the country everyday to find their fortunes in almost every corner of the world.
The labor party in particular is opposing the policies of contractualization which keeps the level of wages low, threatens job security and a bane to exercising the workers’ rights to self-organization.
5 February 2010
Labor justice is a failed agenda under the 10-year rule of the Arroyo administration, a militant labor partylist group, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said in a statement sent to media as the party commemorates the 10th year death anniversary of its founder, the late Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman, tomorrow.
Lagman was gunned down at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman on February 6, 2001, barely two months after Mrs. Arroyo assumed power through a popular uprising and thus considered the first case of extra-judicial killing under the Arroyo government that remains unsolved.
PM chair Renato Magtubo even recalled that Mrs. Arroyo in her 2001 Labor Day speech vowed to solve the Lagman case in her first 100 days in office and instructed all concerned law enforcement agencies to coordinate and go after the killers.
“Now it’s not just 100 days but an agonizing 10 years of failed justice for Ka Popoy and for many other victims who suffered the same fate under this corrupt and repressive regime,” said Magtubo.
The Partido ng Manggagawa was Lagman’s last project before his death. PM is a sectoral group running for the partylist elections.
He was also behind the formation of other militant groups such as the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and the multisectoral group Sanlakas. It was also Lagman who then pursued the “Resigh All” line calling not only for the resignation of President Estrada but also of Mrs. Arroyo, believing that a mere change in the face of the next rulers will never solve the country’s chronic problems.
“In few more months, GMA will leave the presidency with the Lagman murder still unsolved and the conditions of the working class in the country gone from bad to worse. Our challenge to the next administration is to make labor justice an urgent agenda and policies aligned towards this platform,” declared
Labor justice, according to PM, is not only about justice for the unsolved killings under the Arroyo regime but most importantly, is a change in policies that for the longest time have undermined the rights and welfare of the working class.
The current minimum wage of Filipino workers is way below the needed family wage as mandated by the Constitution. Filipinos have also the least social security protections compared with their counterparts abroad. As a result, some 3,000 workers leave the country everyday to find their fortunes in almost every corner of the world.
The labor party in particular is opposing the policies of contractualization which keeps the level of wages low, threatens job security and a bane to exercising the workers’ rights to self-organization.
“Don’t overtake,” labor party-list urge transport group
Press Release
February 4, 2010
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa called on the transport association Pasang Masda to change the acronym “PM” which it used in its registration with the Comelec for the party-list election. “Don’t overtake is a minor traffic rule that we expect Pasang Masda to follow. Partido ng Manggagawa is ahead of Pasang Masda as far as driving on the party-list road is concerned and PM has been our vehicle since the 2001 elections,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of Partido ng Manggagawa.
The labor party-list found out in the Certified List of Candidates for Party List posted on the COMELEC website on January 30, 2010 at 3pm that the acronym of Pasang Masda was indicated as “PM.” Partido ng Manggagawa will file today at the Comelec clerk of court a formal petition to resolve the issue and grant the labor party-list the exclusive right to use the acronym “PM.”
Yesterday the group already sent a letter addressed to the Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department and Chairman Jose Melo asking the poll body to compel Pasang Masda to change the acronym it used. Miranda added that “We expect the Comelec to correct the mistake before the official ballots are printed. ‘PM’ is an acronym that has been registered with the Partido ng Manggagawa for almost a decade now, used during elections or not, inside the House of Representatives and in the parliament of the streets.”
“The use of the same acronym ‘PM’ by both Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will utterly confuse the voters. Voters shading their ballots will easily make a mistake since Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will be adjacent to each other on the roll of party-list groups,” insisted Miranda.
She said that “We do not object to jeepney drivers participating in the party-list elections nor do we question Pasang Masda seeking representation for the sector. But they must register their own unique acronym instead of appropriating ‘PM’ that has been historically tied to Partido ng Manggagawa.”
In its letter to the Comelec, the labor party-list argued that “PM” for the last 2001, 2004 and 2007 elections has been the acronym of Partido ng Manggagawa printed in the COMELEC official ballots. Also it stated that Renato Magtubo was proclaimed, sworn in and recognized by the 12th and 13th Congress as Partido ng Manggagawa-PM Party List representative.
Partido ng Manggagawa believes that Pasang Masda was one of many party-list groups accredited after appeal since it was not part of the original Comelec certified list of 144 last January 15. The labor party-list is also raising an issue on the propriety of the accredited party-list groups suddenly ballooning by 30% to 187.
February 4, 2010
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa called on the transport association Pasang Masda to change the acronym “PM” which it used in its registration with the Comelec for the party-list election. “Don’t overtake is a minor traffic rule that we expect Pasang Masda to follow. Partido ng Manggagawa is ahead of Pasang Masda as far as driving on the party-list road is concerned and PM has been our vehicle since the 2001 elections,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of Partido ng Manggagawa.
The labor party-list found out in the Certified List of Candidates for Party List posted on the COMELEC website on January 30, 2010 at 3pm that the acronym of Pasang Masda was indicated as “PM.” Partido ng Manggagawa will file today at the Comelec clerk of court a formal petition to resolve the issue and grant the labor party-list the exclusive right to use the acronym “PM.”
Yesterday the group already sent a letter addressed to the Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec Law Department and Chairman Jose Melo asking the poll body to compel Pasang Masda to change the acronym it used. Miranda added that “We expect the Comelec to correct the mistake before the official ballots are printed. ‘PM’ is an acronym that has been registered with the Partido ng Manggagawa for almost a decade now, used during elections or not, inside the House of Representatives and in the parliament of the streets.”
“The use of the same acronym ‘PM’ by both Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will utterly confuse the voters. Voters shading their ballots will easily make a mistake since Partido ng Manggagawa and Pasang Masda will be adjacent to each other on the roll of party-list groups,” insisted Miranda.
She said that “We do not object to jeepney drivers participating in the party-list elections nor do we question Pasang Masda seeking representation for the sector. But they must register their own unique acronym instead of appropriating ‘PM’ that has been historically tied to Partido ng Manggagawa.”
In its letter to the Comelec, the labor party-list argued that “PM” for the last 2001, 2004 and 2007 elections has been the acronym of Partido ng Manggagawa printed in the COMELEC official ballots. Also it stated that Renato Magtubo was proclaimed, sworn in and recognized by the 12th and 13th Congress as Partido ng Manggagawa-PM Party List representative.
Partido ng Manggagawa believes that Pasang Masda was one of many party-list groups accredited after appeal since it was not part of the original Comelec certified list of 144 last January 15. The labor party-list is also raising an issue on the propriety of the accredited party-list groups suddenly ballooning by 30% to 187.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Workers protest SSS fund diversion for GMA stimulus plan
Press Release
February 1, 2010
Members of the party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) picketed the main office of the Social Security System in protest at the plan of SSS President Romulo Neri to channel P12.5 billion of SSS funds to the economic stimulus package of the Arroyo administration.
Chanting “Neri, Gloria: Hands off our funds!” and “Additional workers benefits not more GMA projects is the right stimulus plan!” some 50 workers from PM gathered at the East Avenue office of SSS around 10 a.m.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, argued that “It is not just illegal but illegitimate for Neri to divert billions in SSS funds to infrastructure projects that will benefit capitalists first and workers last, if at all. A pro-labor stimulus plan must put money in workers hands through additional SSS benefits for workers, including an unemployment subsidy for displaced SSS members.”
The group also revealed that they are studying the option of filing a class suit of SSS members against Neri for the alleged fund diversion. The workers also voiced support for Senate Resolution 850 directing the committee on government corporations and public enterprises to investigate the plan to channel the P12.5 billion for the government’s "economic resiliency plan."
Among the protesters were workers who are SSS members with complaints about their benefits. Among them is Tomas Piroy, a resident of Tanza, Cavite but who works as a security guard in Paranaque. Piroy recently secured a loan from SSS but objects to the P200 service charge automatically deducted from his loan. “The SSS is our money yet we are charged for accessing our benefits,” Piroy stated.
Dennis Sequena, leader of PM in Cavite raised the prospect that due to the lack of transparency and corruption in the administration, “Workers funds might be used for the electoral campaign of the regime-backed candidates if not of GMA herself in Pampanga. Neri is apparently confused that as administrator of the SSS money his real boss is the workers who have put their hard-earned money in the insurance fund not GMA who wants to dip her hands in the piggy bank of the working class.”
He added that “If instead of funding infrastructure projects, the P12.5 billion in SSS funds is used as unemployment subsidy for workers laid off due to the economic crisis, then some 200,000 will benefit. This will be enough to cover the 40,000 laid off, according to the conservative figures of the DOLE, since the start of the global recession and the tens of thousands more to be displaced in the coming months and years as the economic crisis shows no sign of abating.” PM is pushing for an unemployment subsidy at the minimum wage rate of P10,000 for up to six months for workers who are recently displaced.
February 1, 2010
Members of the party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) picketed the main office of the Social Security System in protest at the plan of SSS President Romulo Neri to channel P12.5 billion of SSS funds to the economic stimulus package of the Arroyo administration.
Chanting “Neri, Gloria: Hands off our funds!” and “Additional workers benefits not more GMA projects is the right stimulus plan!” some 50 workers from PM gathered at the East Avenue office of SSS around 10 a.m.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, argued that “It is not just illegal but illegitimate for Neri to divert billions in SSS funds to infrastructure projects that will benefit capitalists first and workers last, if at all. A pro-labor stimulus plan must put money in workers hands through additional SSS benefits for workers, including an unemployment subsidy for displaced SSS members.”
The group also revealed that they are studying the option of filing a class suit of SSS members against Neri for the alleged fund diversion. The workers also voiced support for Senate Resolution 850 directing the committee on government corporations and public enterprises to investigate the plan to channel the P12.5 billion for the government’s "economic resiliency plan."
Among the protesters were workers who are SSS members with complaints about their benefits. Among them is Tomas Piroy, a resident of Tanza, Cavite but who works as a security guard in Paranaque. Piroy recently secured a loan from SSS but objects to the P200 service charge automatically deducted from his loan. “The SSS is our money yet we are charged for accessing our benefits,” Piroy stated.
Dennis Sequena, leader of PM in Cavite raised the prospect that due to the lack of transparency and corruption in the administration, “Workers funds might be used for the electoral campaign of the regime-backed candidates if not of GMA herself in Pampanga. Neri is apparently confused that as administrator of the SSS money his real boss is the workers who have put their hard-earned money in the insurance fund not GMA who wants to dip her hands in the piggy bank of the working class.”
He added that “If instead of funding infrastructure projects, the P12.5 billion in SSS funds is used as unemployment subsidy for workers laid off due to the economic crisis, then some 200,000 will benefit. This will be enough to cover the 40,000 laid off, according to the conservative figures of the DOLE, since the start of the global recession and the tens of thousands more to be displaced in the coming months and years as the economic crisis shows no sign of abating.” PM is pushing for an unemployment subsidy at the minimum wage rate of P10,000 for up to six months for workers who are recently displaced.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Party-list group pickets Comelec against disqualification of Danny Lim
Press Release
December 28, 2009
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined other supporters of Danny Lim in a rally in front of the Comelec main office today. PM and other groups are protesting the Comelec’s disqualification of senatorial candidate Danny Lim.
“We ask the Comelec to reconsider its decision since it is simply not true that Danny Lim is a nuisance candidate. Gloria Arroyo is more of a nuisance candidate than Danny Lim if we base it on public opinion,” asserted Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of PM, one the groups that have openly endorsed and are supporting the rebel general’s electoral bid.
Members of PM trooped to the Intramuros, Manila office of the Comelec at 8 am for the rally. “Danny Lim is not a decoration in this election; he is instead a decorated officer. While Danny Lim is not a candidate of the elite, he is the leader of the elite group of the armed forces,” argued Miranda.
The labor group is appealing to the Comelec to give due recognition to Lim’s motion for reconsideration and reverse its decision “lest the poll body be charged of politically motivated decisions and being an apparatus of the GMA regime in suppressing its political enemies.”
Miranda added that “Danny Lim is not adopting to trapo politics that is why he ran as an independent, and he is being adopted the mass movement and the forces fighting for social change.”
PM was one of the several national groups that accompanied Lim when he filed his certificate of candidacy last November 27. The labor group also filed on the same day its manifestation to participate in the party-list elections.
December 28, 2009
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined other supporters of Danny Lim in a rally in front of the Comelec main office today. PM and other groups are protesting the Comelec’s disqualification of senatorial candidate Danny Lim.
“We ask the Comelec to reconsider its decision since it is simply not true that Danny Lim is a nuisance candidate. Gloria Arroyo is more of a nuisance candidate than Danny Lim if we base it on public opinion,” asserted Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of PM, one the groups that have openly endorsed and are supporting the rebel general’s electoral bid.
Members of PM trooped to the Intramuros, Manila office of the Comelec at 8 am for the rally. “Danny Lim is not a decoration in this election; he is instead a decorated officer. While Danny Lim is not a candidate of the elite, he is the leader of the elite group of the armed forces,” argued Miranda.
The labor group is appealing to the Comelec to give due recognition to Lim’s motion for reconsideration and reverse its decision “lest the poll body be charged of politically motivated decisions and being an apparatus of the GMA regime in suppressing its political enemies.”
Miranda added that “Danny Lim is not adopting to trapo politics that is why he ran as an independent, and he is being adopted the mass movement and the forces fighting for social change.”
PM was one of the several national groups that accompanied Lim when he filed his certificate of candidacy last November 27. The labor group also filed on the same day its manifestation to participate in the party-list elections.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Labor group protests Danny Lim’s disqualification
Press Release
December 17, 2009
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) declared its opposition to the Comelec’s disqualification of senatorial candidate Danny Lim. “We ask the Comelec to reconsider its decision since it is simply not true that Danny Lim is a nuisance candidate. Gloria Arroyo is more of a nuisance candidate than Danny Lim if we base it on public opinion,” asserted Renato Magtubo, chairperson of PM, one the groups that have openly endorsed and are supporting the rebel general’s electoral bid.
The group revealed that it is considering launching mass actions to protest Lim’s disqualification. “Danny Lim is not a decoration in this election; he is instead a decorated officer. While Danny Lim is not a candidate of the elite, he is the leader of the elite group of the armed forces,” argued Magtubo.
The labor group is appealing to the Comelec to give due recognition to Lim’s motion for reconsideration and reverse its decision “lest the poll body be charged of politically motivated decisions and being an apparatus of the GMA regime in suppressing its political enemies.”
Magtubo added that “Danny Lim is not adopting to trapo politics that is why he ran as an independent, and he is being adopted the mass movement and the forces fighting for social change.”
PM was one of the several national groups that accompanied Lim when he filed his certificate of candidacy last November 27. The labor group also filed on the same day its manifestation to participate in the party-list elections.
December 17, 2009
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) declared its opposition to the Comelec’s disqualification of senatorial candidate Danny Lim. “We ask the Comelec to reconsider its decision since it is simply not true that Danny Lim is a nuisance candidate. Gloria Arroyo is more of a nuisance candidate than Danny Lim if we base it on public opinion,” asserted Renato Magtubo, chairperson of PM, one the groups that have openly endorsed and are supporting the rebel general’s electoral bid.
The group revealed that it is considering launching mass actions to protest Lim’s disqualification. “Danny Lim is not a decoration in this election; he is instead a decorated officer. While Danny Lim is not a candidate of the elite, he is the leader of the elite group of the armed forces,” argued Magtubo.
The labor group is appealing to the Comelec to give due recognition to Lim’s motion for reconsideration and reverse its decision “lest the poll body be charged of politically motivated decisions and being an apparatus of the GMA regime in suppressing its political enemies.”
Magtubo added that “Danny Lim is not adopting to trapo politics that is why he ran as an independent, and he is being adopted the mass movement and the forces fighting for social change.”
PM was one of the several national groups that accompanied Lim when he filed his certificate of candidacy last November 27. The labor group also filed on the same day its manifestation to participate in the party-list elections.
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