While there exists no legal prohibition against a sitting
President organizing his political base, the kick-off rally for the Luneta Park
launching of Bagong Pilipinas on Sunday, January 28, is deemed ‘politically
linked’ with the House-led people's initiative (PI) to revise the 1987
Constitution, stated the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) on Friday.
PM Chair Renato Magtubo drew a political connection between
the two campaigns, citing reports of barangay officials in Manila and other
areas who remain engaged in the PI signature campaign and have received
invitations from City officials and the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) to join the Luneta Rally on Sunday.
"Based on our local monitoring, the PI campaign in
barangays continues unabated, despite the Senate's initiative to entertain
charter change (chacha) via ConAss. The invitation, with its directive tone to
barangay officials to attend the Bagong Pilipinas rally at Luneta on Sunday, to
be attended by the President himself, cannot be dismissed as mere
coincidence," said Magtubo.
PM obtained a screenshot copy from a reliable source of a
memorandum dated January 21, 2024, issued by DILG-Manila, inviting "All
Punong Barangays, Sangguniang Barangay Members, Sangguniang Kabataan
Chairpersons, SK Members, Barangay Secretaries and Treasurers, Barangay Tanods,
and other Barangay Employees in the City of Manila" to attend the
"Grand Launching of the Bagong Pilipinas Campaign".
The invitation is for them to attend "this historic
gathering" graced by His Excellency President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos,
Jr., who will "illuminate the President's vision for societal and
governmental transformation, paving the way for inclusive and sustainable
development."
The DILG memo, properly endorsed by city officials, directed
barangay officials to register for the Bagong Pilipinas campaign link and
advised them to wear barangay uniforms or white-polo shirts and be at the venue
before the scheduled lockdown by 3:00 PM.
PM observes that although the "Bagong Pilipinas"
(BP) tagline has been promoted even before the President's Second State of the
Nation Address in July last year, its elevation into a "Campaign" for
this Sunday rally, as indicated in the DILG memo, "can only be politically
linked with the most active, well-organized, administration-led PI campaign for
chacha," emphasized Magtubo.
Magtubo cautioned that the intertwined PI and BP campaigns
would be distractive, divisive, and deceitful.
"Until prices of goods and services are made
affordable, lost wages are recovered, and full employment with living wages and
full protection of labor as mandated by the 1987 Constitution is implemented
and realized, rebranding the old ‘Bagong Lipunan’ with Marcos Jr.’s 'Bagong
Pilipinas' is dynastic entertainment at the very least. But when aligned with
the PI campaign, centralizing and perpetuating power to the incumbents could be
its most dangerous political outcome," explained Magtubo.
Labor groups consistently oppose the numerous attempts to
revise the 1987 Constitution, stating that all these maneuvers lack sincerity
in advancing authentic social change.
"Those in power continue to blame the Constitution for
the country's chronic poverty when they themselves, along with capitalistic and
dynastic political systems they maintain, enable them to live in luxury and
political security while keeping the people poor. Sadly, since 1987, nobody
sees a push for chacha to be prompted by mea culpa from among the trapos,"
concluded Magtubo.
Partido Manggagawa
26 January 2024
