BROAD COALITION VS CHA-CHA LAUNCHED

 

Various people’s organizations and religious groups launched Wednesday, February 14, a coalition against a renewed push for Charter change (Cha-cha) which they said will not solve the country’s problems, contrary to its proponents.

 

Koalisyon Laban sa Cha-cha — convened by Bishop Jose Colin M. Bagaforo of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Bishop Jonel Milan of the K4Philippines Intercessors Movement, Ms. Minnie Anne Mata-Calub of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, of Tindig Pilipinas, Josua Mata of Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, and Justine Balane of Akbayan Youth. — denounced the fresh moves to revise the 1987 Constitution as “selfish.”

 

“Our Constitution is robust but not fully implemented and completed with the necessary implementing laws. The leaders we entrusted with power do not fully implement the Constitution and provide necessary implementing laws because of selfish agenda,” the coalition said.

 

It also refuted claims of lawmakers campaigning for Cha-cha that the Constitution is to blame for
chronic poverty and that its economic provisions are too restrictive for foreign investments.

 

The group vowed to uphold the Constitution, particularly its social justice provisions, and to protect the sanctity of processes to amend or revise the Charter so that these will not be used to exploit people.

 

As it traced the opposition to previous Cha-cha attempts, the coalition said there is no reason to change the Constitution now, especially under a president “in denial of the corruption and human rights abuses of his father's dictatorial regime.”

 

‘True unity’

 

Bishop Bagaforo, who chairs the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace and heads Caritas Philippines, called the current push for Cha-cha “questionable.”

 

“We view attempts to alter the Constitution, especially with questionable motives and limited public participation, as threatening our nation's well-being,” Bagaforo said.

 

He continued, “The 1987 Constitution is not a political plaything. It was crafted after a dark period to serve the Filipino people, upholding human dignity, human rights, and the common good. We echo the CBCP's stance: Any revision must adhere to these moral principles.”

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), an ecumenical fellowship of non-Roman Catholic denominations in the country, also rejected the current push for Cha-cha, saying it will not help people.

 

“It will open up the economy to further foreign exploitation and foreign military basing. The former will further mire the people in poverty while the latter will compromise Philippine sovereignty,” Jennifer Ferariza-Meneses, NCCP’s vice-chairperson for women, said.

 

Hontiveros hailed the “true unity” of people’s organizations and religious groups joining forces against Cha-cha despite having come from different walks of life.

 

“Ito ang tunay na pagkakaisa: Ang pagkakaisa ng taumbayan na lalaban para sa kapakanan ng nakararami, hindi para lang sa interes ng iilan,” she said.

 

The senator urged people to join the coalition and other groups against Cha-cha as she underscored the need to further strengthen the campaign against this attempt to tamper with the Constitution.

 

“Pagod na tayo sa pagtangis dahil sa mga nasaktang puso at napakong pangako,” Hontiveros said. “Kaya pupunasan na natin ang ating luha at buong-loob na papasanin ang krus ng laban kontra sa Cha-cha para ang ating bayan ay maging tunay na bayang magiliw.”

 

Focus on true needs of Pinoys

 

Fr. Antonio Labiao, Caritas’ executive secretary, said that instead of tinkering with the Constitution, the government should instead work to eradicate corruption, protect the environment, break political dynasties, and ensure electoral integrity.

 

“A just and equitable society for all Filipinos cannot be achieved through self-serving Charter changes, but through a genuine commitment to the people’s welfare. We urge the government to fulfill its duty and prioritize the needs of its citizens,” Labiao said.

 

Josua Mata of Nagkaisa Labor Coalition and Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa said what the people truly need are living wages, jobs and rights.

 

“Kung wala dito ang puso ninyo, malamang kapangyarihan at kayamanan lang ang habol ninyo!” Mata said. “We urge our legislators to prioritize policies that would address the chronic poverty amidst the widening gap of income inequality in the country.”

 

Akbayan Youth chairperson Justine Balane said student councils, Sanggunian Kabataan and youth leaders all over the country are rising up against Charter change, which he said will “short-change” the youth.

 

“The youth rejects a future where the elite have unlimited years in power, our economy is owned by foreign billionaires, and the people are starved of their human rights,” Balane said. “Walang pakinabang ang kabataan at mag-aaral sa cha-cha. This trapo-led charter change will only short-change our future.”

“In the face of our nation's pressing problems, present Charter Change initiatives are divisive, wasteful and unnecessary. We urge our politicians to put solving our people's hunger, poverty, and poor education first!” said Ging Quintos Deles of Tindig Pilipinas and Buhay Ang EDSA Campaign Network.

 

Koalisyon Laban sa Cha-cha vowed to sustain its efforts to defend democracy. “We are Filipinos. We have the responsibility, courage, and fervor to strive for the governance of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace in this generation and future generations,” it said.

 

Photos can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid0dm6214WyUYrZUgo9tQC3BAid3KuEcUBvCSF67xRcc1CvDR1zkknzTnFmQkSDt5ckl

PRESS RELEASE

February 14, 2024

‘Baguhin ang Labor Code Hindi ang Konstitusyon’: Comrades remember Ka Popoy Lagman amid ‘tumultuous’ time

 

Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman was assassinated inside the University of the Philippines Diliman campus 23 years ago today. Nobody claimed responsibility for his murder, but his comrades in the labor movement do not rule out state involvement by many means, as the revolutionary labor leader played a key role in mass mobilizations during important social issues of his time, including charter change.

 

Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chair Renato Magtubo, a union president and a partylist representative then, remembers Ka Popoy as someone who adapts to the changing political landscape without losing his revolutionary commitment.

 

He cited as an example that Lagman popularized the slogan ‘Rebolusyon Hindi Eleksyon’ in anticipation of the transition of power from Cory Aquino to Fidel Ramos during the 1992 elections, as well as the ‘Resign All’ call during the anti-Erap struggle, as he deemed that a Gloria Arroyo takeover of power won’t change anything, which proved prescient.

 

At the height of Edsa Dos people power, Lagman’s group pushed for the idea of having a caretaker government to be headed then by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, while other left groups supported Gloria Arroyo.

 

“Hindi katanggap-tanggap na ang panibagong people power ay magbunga lang ng isang Gloria. Dahil para lang nating pinalitan ang bigote ni Erap ng nunal ni Gloria,” Magtubo recalled Ka Popoy saying these words in disgust over the dire prospect of a simple regime change instead of the possibility of system change.

 

On February 6, 2001, he was shot dead while he was in the thick of preparations for the launching of Partido Manggagawa (PM). PM was founded by working class leaders on February 12, 2001, the same day Ka Popoy was laid to rest through a massive funeral march from UP to Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.

 

“Kung nabubuhay lang si Ka Popoy ngayon, malamang ibabalik niya ulit ang kanyang naunang paninindigan noon laban sa charter change na ‘Baguhin ang Labor Code, Hindi ang Konstitusyon,’” Magtubo explained. At that time, labor groups were pushing for ‘CBA ng Uri’ as they find in the Labor Code many provisions that prohibit the free exercise of labor rights, including the freedom to organize and to strike as provided under the Constitution.

 

Today PM pursues a similar line, “Chicha hindi Chacha”, as it finds the motives behind the new push for charter change remain to be the same—dynastic lust for power and service to foreign capital—that runs counter to workers’ most urgent concerns on high prices, low wages, unemployment, and other demands for economic relief.

 

Members of PM vowed to continue seeking justice for Ka Popoy while pursuing what they believe is his legacy as a working-class hero—the struggle for the emancipation of the working class.

06 February 2024

Noise barrage and candle light protest vs return of Marcos to power

 

The groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa (Kalipunan) which unites workers, farmers, women and students will lead a protest action this afternoon at 5:30 pm against the return of the Marcoses to power.

 

“EDSA’s epic fail is engendering a throwback to dictatorship. Since EDSA’s let-down is plain to see, memes of a Marcos golden age look like fact rather than fiction,” averred Judy Miranda, PM Secretary-General.

 

The highlight of the protest is a noise barrage and candle lighting at the People Power Monument. The riders’ group Kagulong will assemble at Mall of Asia then hold a “unity ride” to join Kalipunan.

 

“Poverty, inequality and injustice have persisted and plagued our country since 1986. True, these were a pestilence even during the Marcos dictatorship despite recent attempts to prettify the thingy called martial law. The infamous infrastructure projects of Marcos which keep popping up on social media were no more than just opportunities to rob the people while pushing generations of Filipinos deep into debt. The plunder of the national treasury and the systematic human rights violations by the state still have no parallel during the post-EDSA regimes. Abuse of power is necessarily worse under a dictatorial regime which does not have to bother with the niceties of due process, civil liberties, press freedom or a political opposition,” Miranda explained.

 

She added that “All those political—and social, we should not forget—contradictions during the 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship finally exploded in that historic event called the ‘people power uprising.’ While the yearning for democracy was central to EDSA, the cause of social justice—the demand of workers for rights, of peasants for land, of students for reform, among others—was no less a key impetus.”

 

“The EDSA democracy is a skeleton without flesh. The formality is there but the substance is lacking. Elections are a farce. Instead of an exercise in democracy, it is a rigodon for dynasties and warlords. Regime after regime played deaf to the cry for social justice as globalization dictated by the IMF and WTO was embraced. Cheap labor was used as a come on for foreign investors. Farmers buckled under the onslaught of cheap imports. Social services suffered as the national budget was decimated by debt outlays, a big part of which was to pay loans taken out by Marcos. With a bleak future in the country, millions of Filipinos migrated despite all the sacrifices and difficulties. To those living in the purgatory of the EDSA democracy, the hell of martial law is little comfort. No surprise then that purveyors of fake news, creative imagination and alternative facts are having a field day. EDSA’s epic fail created a vacuum that is being filled by an authoritarian throwback,” Miranda concluded.

February 25, 2022

Advisory: Noise barrage and candle light protest tomorrow vs return of Marcos to power

 

Media Advisory

February 24, 2022

Partido Manggagawa

Contact Judy Miranda @ 09228677522

 

Noise barrage and candle light protest tomorrow vs return of Marcos to power

 

What: Protest against return to power of Marcoses

 

When: Tomorrow, Feb 25, 5:30 pm

 

Where: People Power Monument

 

Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa which unites workers, farmers, women and students will lead the protest action. The highlight of the protest is a noise barrage and candle lighting. The riders’ group Kagulong will assemble at Mall of Asia then hold a “unity ride” to the People Power Monument to join Kalipunan.

Militants to mobilize against Marcos return in EDSA commemoration

 

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) and its allies are mobilizing for a protest action tomorrow in the commemoration of the EDSA 1 people power uprising. The group and the coalition Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa are holding a noise barrage and candle lighting around 5:30 pm at the People Power Monument.

 

“The 2022 elections pose the question of consolidating a turn to authoritarianism or pivoting to a regime that respects civic space and civil liberties. Democratic freedoms are necessary for the advancement of the struggle of workers and the poor for social justice. Thus, the progressive labor and social movements are campaigning for candidates that will guarantee the expansion of the democratic space,” declared Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

 

The riders’ rights group Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong) will join PM and Kalipunan in the protest action. Kagulong will assemble at the Mall of Asia by 3:00 pm then have a “unity ride” to the People Power Monument to link up with other groups.

 

Miranda explained that “On the 36^th anniversary of the EDSA uprising, it is time to admit the bitter truth that its failed promises have laid the fertile ground for the revival of authoritarianism and a revision of history. EDSA’s epic fail is engendering a throwback to dictatorship The workers and the poor have been witness, nay victims, to the disaster of three decades of EDSA democracy. Under the leadership of the elite faction opposed to the Marcos dictatorship, the democracy built after EDSA was only a caricature.”

 

“Is a return to the past the answer to the misery of the present? We say no, as Filipinos who wish the best for our country. Is it time to move on instead of celebrating EDSA as the Duterte administration says? We say no, for we believe the real alternative is to level up EDSA. People power is hollow without democratizing power. Only a decisive resolution to the demands of workers for decent jobs, of farmers to control of land, of the poor for social protection and of the people for national sovereignty will rid the country of the plague of destitution and inequity. Empowering the people—providing economic security to the masses and also their participation in policy decisions—will pull the rug from underneath historical revisionists and wannabee dictators,” Miranda insisted. ###

Government’s deeds do not match words on human rights issues

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the government on its response to the European Union Parliament’s critique of inaction by the Philippines on human rights concerns.

 

“Deeds do not match words. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles are being disingenuous when they say that the administration is acting on the complaints. In reality, violations of human rights continue with impunity. The recent controversial arrest of Dr. Naty Castro is a case in point. Arrest, detention and red-tagging of critics and activists is on top of the thousands killed in the bloody drug war and the dozens of unionists murdered under the present dispensation,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

The group said that the EU Parliament is not the only international body taking the government to task. In its latest report, the International Labor Organization’s committee of experts on the committee of experts on the application of conventions and recommendations averred that speedy and effective probes of the killings of trade unionists and the conviction of perpetrators are lacking if not absent.

 

Magtubo added that “Just to cite one case, the murder of union organizer Dennis Sequeña remains unsolved to this day, almost three years after he was shot while facilitating a labor seminar for export zone workers in Cavite. It was the outrage over the killing of Dennis just days before the annual International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2019 that precipitated the current complaint against the Philippine government for systematic violations of Convention 87 and Convention 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining.”

 

 “Aside from Dennis, no justice has been served for the killings of PM leaders Orlando Abangan of Cebu, Rolando Pango and Victoriano Embang of Negros Occidental. As the ILO report has noted, the government keeps on repeating that investigations are happening without providing any details,” Magtubo insisted.

 

The group also stated that the government is dragging its feet on a review of the rules governing the conduct of security personnel during disputes and the scrapping of a program on peacekeeping in the export processing zones.

 

“The Philippine Economic Zone Authority in particular has been blocking progress on strengthening the freedom to unionize and the right to protest of workers in export processing zones. Their latest maneuver has been to change the name of the Joint Industrial Peace Concerns Office to Alliance for Industrial Peace and Program Office but the aim of militarizing ecozones by setting up police precincts and suppressing unionism remains in place,” Magtubo explained. 

February 22, 2022

Drilon asked to air concern on endo jobs not just job loss of ABS-CBN workers

In reaction to the statement of Senator Franklin Drilon about the impending joblessness of ABS-CBN workers if the franchise is not renewed, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asked that he also air his concern on the contractual status of thousands of the network’s employees.

“If Senator Drilon accepts the fact that there are 11,000 ABS-CBN employees, then he must necessarily ask the question why some 10,000 of them remain on contractual status and thus denied higher wages, good benefits and job security,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “ABS-CBN denies its employee-employer relationship to these so-called talents and thus the company avers that it only has some 1,000 workers.”

On Monday, PM and other groups like Kalipunan and I-Defend are mobilizing against the repression of democratic rights and for defense of freedoms such as a critical press and the right to unionize. Unions are being red-tagged and strikes are being dispersed around the country, the group observed.

“We call on Congress not to end the franchise of ABS-CBN but we also demand that ABS-CBN stop endo among it workers. Wag i-endo ng Kongreso ang prangkisa ng ABS-CBN pero wag din i-endo ng ABS-CBN ang mga manggagawa nito,”Magtubo explained.

Yesterday PM slammed Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa for his indifference to the predicament of some 11,000 workers of ABS-CBN who will be affected by a shutdown of the network.

“Wag pagmatigasan ni Bato ang mga manggagawa ng ABS-CBN. If Senator Bato is does not care about 11,000 ABS-CBN workers losing their jobs then he also does not care about the Filipino people. The plight of 11,000 ABS-CBN workers is a microcosm of the the conditions of some 26 million wage and salary workers in the country who together with their families definitely comprise a majority of the Filipino people,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Magtubo made this remark in answer to Senator dela Rosa’s contention that the interests of the Filipino people trump concern over the livelihood of the ABS-CBN workers. He added that “It is obvious that the threat to shutdown ABS-CBN is rooted in President Duterte’s personal grudge and does not have anything to do with the national interest. Bato himself said that he lives or dies with President Duterte so his loyalty is just to one person not the entire nation.”

The group called on regular and contractual ABS-CBN workers to forge an alliance and for the talents to organize so that they have voice and representation. “Neither the Lopezes nor Duterte, or even the political opposition, can be relied upon to treat ABS-CBN workers fairly. Whatever happens to ABS-CBN, the workers are protected if they are united and organized,” stated Magtubo. 

February 20, 2020

Basic Sectors, Human Rights Groups Join Forces to Reject ChaCha

Around 2,000 human rights advocates from labor, women, farmers, urban poor, environmental activists, indigenous peoples and the youth gathered at 1pm in front of the EDSA Shrine today. Coming from the Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa (KALIPUNAN), the mobilization held a streamer: “Not this Charter Change! Not this Federalism!”

Lanz Espacio, spokesperson of Kalipunan declared, “the basic sectors are not asking for a constitutional change, but for a change in their conditions which was not uplifted in the last 32 years.” Espacio said that the people’s agenda then and now is genuine empowerment of the real majority – the basic sectors. However, the result of the first EDSA was elitist democracy, while the current administration is pushing for a new dictatorship using ChaCha or its version of “revolutionary government” as vehicle.

“We will not allow a dictatorship to happen. What happened in 1986 and before then was people’s struggle against a dictatorship,” said Jean Enriquez, co-convenor of KALIPUNAN and coordinator of World March of Women (WMW). “We will not allow the shortcomings of the last 32 years nor loopholes in the Constitution to be used a defective change being pushed by the Duterte administration,” she added.

Wilson Fortaleza of Partido Manggagawa (PM) added that they also want change, but a change that is real. “Mas masidhi, kung tutuusin, ang pagnanais ng mga sektor para dito. Pero pagbabago sa paraang kasali ang batayang sektor na silang dapat sentrong benepisyaryo ng gagawing pagbabago. Gusto namin ng isang Demokrasyang para sa lahat, hindi para sa iilan,” according to Fortaleza.

“Our agenda is to stop the killings, protect and promote human rights and make justice happen,” said Nestor Yaranon of Kilos Maralita, also a member of Kalipunan. “What we ask for is to stop “Endo” and raise wages, complete and expand agrarian reform, to institute liberative education and decent, affordable housing for the poor, eliminate violence against women, respond to climate change and stop extractive industries, stop privatization, dynaties.”

Josua Mata of SENTRO added that these demands are not the intent behind ChaCha. “Real change remains in our hands,” Mata added.

Alyansa Tigil Mina, Union of Students for the Advancement of Democracy, Urban Poor Alliance and PAKISAMA are also part of KALIPUNAN. They are joined by In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement in EDSA Shrine going to the People Power Monument for a program against charter change and dictatorship, and for human rights and democracy.

Kalipunan

25 February 2018

Workers slam RevGov in Bonifacio Day rallies

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) called for a stop to the RevGov proposal in nationwide rallies commemorating Bonifacio Day. “Bonifaco led a real revolution to gain democracy for the Filipino masses. Duterte’s RevGov is instead a coup d’etat to install a dictatorship over the people,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

PM joined the group Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa in a several-thousand strong march from Espana to Mendiola this morning. PM and allied organizations also mobilized in Cebu, Davao and Bacolod.

Bonifacio Day was a litmus test for RevGov as anti and pro groups had separate for rallies today.

“We call on workers not to join any RevGov events. The first to be sacrificed in a RevGov-cum-dictatorship are the freedoms and rights of workers. Workers need political and civil liberties to advance their fight against capitalist exploitation and state abuses,” explained Magtubo.

Kalipunan assembled at Ramon Magsaysay High School along Espana by 8:00 am before marching by 9:00 am to Mendiola. In Cebu, the broad coalition Cebu Citizens Assembly marched at downtown Colon St. in the morning. Workers and urban poor led by PM and Sentro assembled at Orcullo Park in Davao, marched around the city and then returned to the park for a program. In Bacolod, sugar workers converged on the city for a rally at downtown.

Magtubo added that “RevGov seeks to capitalize on people’s discontent on the brutal failings of the EDSA democracy. But the alternative to the democracy of the trapos is not a return to a dictatorship of one man but forward to a democracy of the masses that was the agenda of Bonifacio’s revolution. A revolution from the top by a dictator is a fake. The real revolution is a the result of a movement of the masses.”

He added that the Bonifacio Day rallies against RevGov is just the opening salvo and the campaign will escalate towards the commemoration of International Human Rights Day on December 10. More events and mobilizations are slated in the run-up to the remembrance of human rights day. ###

November 30, 2017

Workers on EDSA: Level up not move on

Militant workers joined the rallies today commemorating the anniversary of the people power uprising and rejected the call by Malacanang to “move on.” Wilson Fortaleza, Partido Manggagawa (PM) spokesperson instead insisted that “Don’t move on. Don’t revise history. Let’s go rogue. Level up EDSA. Power to the people not a democracy of trapos.”

Members of PM are joining workers, urban poor, farmers and other sectoral groups who will assemble at Meralco along Ortigas Ave. and then march to the People Power Monument for a multisectoral program. Meanwhile the PM chapter in Cebu is participating in a rally at downtown Gaisano Metro this afternoon.

PM also expressed apprehension at the suppression of political dissent with the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima. “Workers defend civil liberties because political freedom is a necessity in fighting for and winning labor demands,” Fortaleza explained.

He added that “EDSA is not a cul-de-sac. The struggle for democracy and make empowerment real does not end with EDSA. Ang EDSA ay walang endo, wala itong kulay.”

Its youth wing, PM-Kabataan, is also mobilizing community youth and young workers in the activities today. Ryan Bocacao of PM-Kabataan declared that “EDSA’s epic fail is engendering a throwback to dictatorship. But is a return to the past the answer to the misery of the present? We say no, as young Filipinos who wish the best for our country. Is it time to move on instead of celebrate EDSA as the Duterte administration say? We say no, for we believe the real alternative is to level up EDSA. People power is hollow without democratizing power. Empowering the people—providing economic security to the masses and also their participation in policy decisions—will pull the rug from underneath historical revisionists and wannabee dictators.”

Fortaleza averred that “Workers were at the forefront of the fight against the Marcos dictatorship well before EDSA. At tuloy ang laban sa ngayon. Tunay na demokrasya hindi bagong diktadura ang pag-asa ng masang manggagawa.”

PM-Kabataan echoed this call. “As working class millennials—community youth and young workers—we are witness to, nay victims of, the disaster of three decades of EDSA democracy. To those living in the purgatory of the EDSA democracy, the hell of martial law is little comfort. No surprise then that purveyors of fake news, creative imagination and alternative facts are having a field day,” Bocacao explained.

February 25, 2017

EDSA’s epic fail engendering throwback to dictatorship—youth group

Ahead of the anniversary of the people power uprising, a youth group said that the failed promise of EDSA has laid the fertile ground for the revival of authoritarianism and a revision of history. “As working class millennials—community youth and young workers—we are witness to, nay victims of, the disaster of three decades of EDSA democracy,” declared Ryan Bocacao of PM-Kabataan, the youth wing of the militant Partido Manggagawa.

Tomorrow members of PM-Kabataan together with workers from PM are joining a mass at the La Salle Greenhills sponsored by the AMRSP and iDefend, and then later the rally at the People Power Monument. Meanwhile the PM chapter in Cebu is participating in a multisectoral rally at downtown Gaisano Metro tomorrow afternoon.

Both PM and PM-Kabataan expressed apprehension at the suppression of political dissent with the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima. “Workers defend civil liberties because political freedom is a necessity in fighting for and winning labor demands,” Bocacao explained.

He added that “To those living in the purgatory of the EDSA democracy, the hell of martial law is little comfort. No surprise then that purveyors of fake news, creative imagination and alternative facts are having a field day. EDSA’s epic fail created a vacuum that is being filled by an authoritarian throwback.”

“Poverty, inequality and injustice have persisted and plagued our country since 1986. True these were a pestilence even during the Marcos dictatorship despite recent attempts to prettify the thingy called martial law. The infamous infrastructure projects of Marcos which keeps popping up on social media were no more than just opportunities to rob the people while pushing generations of Filipinos deep into debt. The plunder of the national treasury and the systematic    human rights violations by the state still have no parallel during the post-EDSA regimes. Abuse of power is necessarily worse under a dictatorial regime which does not have to bother with the niceties of due process, civil liberties, press freedom or a political opposition,” the group insisted.

Bocacao averred that “All those political—and social, we should not forget—contradictions during the 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship finally exploded in that historic event called the people power uprising. While the yearning for democracy was central to EDSA, the cause of social justice—the demand of workers for rights, of peasants for land, of students for reform, among others—was no less a key impetus. Yet under the leadership of the Dilawan, to be exact the elite faction opposed to the Marcos dictatorship, the democracy built after EDSA was only a caricature.”

“The EDSA democracy is a skeleton without flesh. The formality is there but the substance is lacking. Elections are a farce. Instead of an exercise in democracy, it is a rigodon for dynasties and warlords. Regime after regime played deaf to the cry for social justice as globalization dictated by the IMF and WTO was embraced. Cheap labor was used as come on for foreign investors. Farmers buckled under the onslaught of cheap imports. Social services suffered as the national budget was decimated by debt outlays, a big part of which was to pay loans taken out by Marcos. With a bleak future in the country, millions of Filipinos migrated despite all the sacrifices and difficulties,” Bocacao stated.

He ended “Is a return to the past the answer to the misery of the present? We say no, as young Filipinos who wish the best for our country. Is it time to move on instead of celebrate EDSA as the Duterte administration say? We say no, for we believe the real alternative is to level up EDSA. People power is hollow without democratizing power. Empowering the people—providing economic security to the masses and also their participation in policy decisions—will pull the rug from underneath historical revisionists and wannabee dictators.”

Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan

February 24, 2017

EDSA’s epic fail engendering throwback to dictatorship

On the 31^st anniversary of the EDSA uprising, it is time to admit the bitter truth that its failed promise has laid the fertile ground for the revival of authoritarianism and a revision of history. As working class millennials—community youth and young workers—we are witness, nay victims, to the disaster of three decades of EDSA democracy.

Poverty, inequality and injustice have persisted and plagued our country since 1986. True these were a pestilence even during the Marcos dictatorship despite recent attempts to prettify the thingy called martial law. The infamous infrastructure projects of Marcos which keeps popping up on social media were no more than just opportunities to rob the people while pushing generations of Filipinos deep into debt. The plunder of the national treasury and the systematic human rights violations by the state still have no parallel during the post-EDSA regimes. Abuse of power is necessarily worse under a dictatorial regime which does not have to bother with the niceties of due process, civil liberties, press freedom or a political opposition.

All those political—and social, we should not forget—contradictions during the 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship finally exploded in that historic event called the “people power uprising.” While the yearning for democracy was central to EDSA, the cause of social justice—the demand of workers for rights, of peasants for land, of students for reform, among others—was no less a key impetus. Yet under the leadership of the Dilawan, to be exact the elite faction opposed to the Marcos dictatorship, the democracy built after EDSA was only a caricature.

The EDSA democracy is a skeleton without flesh. The formality is there but the substance is lacking. Elections are a farce. Instead of an exercise in democracy, it is a rigodon for dynasties and warlords. Regime after regime played deaf to the cry for social justice as globalization dictated by the IMF and WTO was embraced. Cheap labor was used as come on for foreign investors. Farmers buckled under the onslaught of cheap imports. Social services suffered as the national budget was decimated by debt outlays, a big part of which was to pay loans taken out by Marcos. With a bleak future in the country, millions of Filipinos migrated despite all the sacrifices and difficulties.

To those living in the purgatory of the EDSA democracy, the hell of martial law is little comfort. No surprise then that purveyors of fake news, creative imagination and alternative facts are having a field day. EDSA’s epic fail created a vacuum that is being filled by an authoritarian throwback.

Cory Aquino made agrarian reform a centerpiece program but almost three decades hence, Hacienda Luisita remains controversial and the most fertile lands in Negros and Mindanao are still in the hands of capitalist landlords and multinational companies. Since EDSA’s let-down is plain to see, memes of a Marcos golden age look like fact rather than fiction.

Is a return to the past the answer to the misery of the present? We say no, as young Filipinos who wish the best for our country. Is it time to move on instead of celebrate EDSA as the Duterte administration say? We say no, for we believe the real alternative is to level up EDSA.

People power is hollow without democratizing power. Only a decisive resolution to the demands of workers for decent jobs, of farmers to control of land, of the poor for social protection and of the people for national sovereignty will rid the country of the plaque of destitution and inequity. Empowering the people—providing economic security to the masses and also their participation in policy decisions—will pull the rug from underneath historical revisionists and wannabee dictators.

Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK)

February 24, 2017

Workers remember Edsa in one word: ‘Sayang’

PRESS RELEASE

25 February 2014

The 1986 People Power uprising created great opportunities for the country to move forward and to fulfil the great Filipino dream of enjoying a better quality of life.  Yet for the labor group, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), the past 28 years can truthfully be described as ‘sayang’ or wasted opportunities bungled by post Edsa rulers. 

In a statement PM enumerated some of the major achievements of Edsa, which, if haven’t been wasted, could have transformed the life of the working people adequately better. 

These include the dismantling of the Marcos dictatorship and replacing it with a relatively more liberal order; the institutionalization of anti-corruption measures; the ratification of a new Constitution that embodied a strong national patrimony and social justice provisions; and; the regular holding of national and local elections thereafter.

“But behind Edsa’s democratic façade were undisputable facts about its failed outcomes,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

The group stated further that while every Filipino especially those who braved the streets against the dictatorship must be recognized for making Edsa 1 and also Edsa 2 possible, it is worth evoking as well that there really is a visible failure in making life better for the masses under the rule of post-Edsa regimes. 

Notwithstanding the unaddressed problem of corruption, PM cites as a more biting example the failure of the two Aquinos (Cory and PNoy) to capitalize on their immense mandate and popularity to move the country away from the ‘business-as-usual’ development path imposed by foreign and local capital.

“So when PNoy asked his cabinet men and women on why the unemployment rate remained high despite the remarkable growth in GDP over the past several years, it only showed how pathetic the second Aquino can be to remain puzzled over the issue of jobless growth which is a problem that has been there since the time of his mother,” said Magtubo.

The average unemployment rate in 1986 was 6.7 percent. In December 2013 it stood at 7.3 percent based on government’s official survey to as high as 27.5 percent based on the survey by Social Weather Station (SWS).

The group also drew some pessimistic parallelism on the two Aquinos, particularly on the power issue.  PM explained that Cory Aquino left the Presidency with a crippling power crisis.  PNoy might finish his term in 2016 leaving the same problems of high power rates and thinning power supply.

And with the elite class apparently exercising full control of government and businesses, the group considers the PNoy government very far from being inclusive. 

In conclusion, PM pointed out that the major failures of Edsa led to the perpetuation of elite rule, inequality, and chronic poverty in the country. They include:

§  The intensification rather than the weakening of political dynasties due to lack of political reforms and the pervasiveness of corruption;

§  The dogged subservience to neoliberal policies such as privatization, deregulation and liberalization which prevented the country’s march towards industrialization and inclusive growth;

§  The corporate capture of almost all branches of government.

The group, however, won’t declare people power as “sayang”.  It maintained that all is not lost of Edsa, specifically on the necessity and wisdom of resistance and collective action taking this form.

“Workers will never give up the union spirit of collective action.  With the whole system faithfully serving the interest of the 1%, we have no choice but to keep the people power option our ultimate recourse to effect change that is truly meaningful,” concluded Magtubo.

Labor group raises concerns on 4-day work week proposal

PRESS RELEASE

18 February 2014

 

The labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) has raised several concerns to the proposed 4-day work week to address monstrous traffic caused by the construction of Skyway 3, saying the proposal may not achieve its intended outcome.

 

“It does not follow that by reducing days of work, the volume of vehicles will significantly drop as most ordinary workers do not own vehicles.  It is not also automatic that when you cut the number of workers in a particular day, you also cut the business operation of public utility vehicles (PUVs),” said PM spokesperson Wilson Fortaleza.

 

Based on available data, private vehicles absolutely outnumber public utility vehicles in Metro Manila but around 70 percent of the volume of transporting people is carried out by PUVs.

 

“The proposal to cut the workers’ volume on a particular day of a week, however, is based on the plain assumption that no work would mean less vehicles on the streets, which is wishful thinking when the city is ruled by private vehicles,” said Fortaleza.

 

Another concern, he said, will be the impact of this proposal to small scale and micro enterprises (SMEs), particularly those in the wholesale and retail industry which comprise more than 90% of establishments and which employ the biggest number of workers in Metro Manila. 

 

The group said that the List of Establishments prepared by the National Statistics Office (NSO) indicated that establishments located in NCR employed about 3.0 million persons or 39% of the total employment in 2012.  On the average, each establishment in NCR employed about 14 persons.

 

PM further believes that compared to big industries, SMEs productivity and survival rely on daily sales of goods and services.

 

Fortaleza added that while flexible working hours is allowed under the law, it should not likewise result to the reduction or diminution of workers’ benefits, specifically on the provision of overtime pay above the mandatory 8-hour work day.  The proposal, he said, may lead to legalizing non-payment of overtime.

 

“Thus, absent a thorough study and consultations on affected sectors, the proposal to clear off the roads may end up punishing the poor,” stated Fortaleza.

 

PM, however, concedes that the traffic problem in Metro Manila must be addressed in the immediate and in the long term, but believes that there are many ways to do it. 

 

“Solutions to the problem must not only serve the minority interest of car-owning population.  City spaces, including roads, must also be inclusive. Thus, we are more in favour of developing mass transport systems particularly railways, rather than building more road networks that largely serve the comfort of private car owners,” concluded Fortaleza.