Youth Stand Up Against Multiple Crises, Including the Climate Emergency

 

On International Youth Day, various youth groups declared their commitment to fighting multiple crises, including the worsening climate emergency, which they believe is causing great suffering and threatening the future of the youth.

 

Among those who participated in the Youth Day action with the call "Towards a Just and Sustainable Future," held this afternoon at Timog Circle, was the Partido Manggagawa – Kabataan (PMK).

 

According to Ferdinand Sanchez, spokesperson of PMK, "Today's youth are facing severe crises caused by the greed of the wealthy and corporations, which continue to worsen the state of our society."

 

He added that education is focused on serving foreign interests and the rich, and that poverty and inequality continue to burden our families and youth.

 

"Despite all of this, we must not be disheartened. The crises we face are not natural conditions but the result of a greedy and unjust system—a system that we can and must fight against," Sanchez declared.

 

PMK also emphasized that beyond these issues, the climate crisis poses the gravest threat to the future of the youth.

 

"This is not just an issue for a few; it is a concern for all of us. The recent typhoons and monsoon rains that flooded our streets and homes are just a preview of what could happen in the future. If the youth do not act, and if corporations and governments are not held accountable, we will continue to sink deeper into poverty and disaster," Sanchez explained.

 

He emphasized that the time has come to collectively push for real change—a society that prioritizes people over profit and advocates for a just and sustainable future for all. 

PRESS RELEASE

Partido Manggagawa – Kabataan

August 10, 2024

Social movements march against chacha, link up with church groups

Labor organizations and social movements on Thursday participated in the ecumenical gathering “PANAGHOY, PANALANGIN AT PANININDIGAN LABAN SA CHARTER CHANGE” event led by the Koalisyon Laban sa Chacha held at Plaza Roma, directly in front of the Manila Cathedral and the Commission on Elections office.

 

But before converging at Plaza Roma, sectoral and community groups gathered from eight in the morning at the Missionary Charity beside the Delpan Sports Complex in Tondo and marched towards Anda Circle to link up with other contingents.

 

Carrying the banner "Sahod Itaas, Cha-Cha Iatras" were the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Partido Manggagawa (PM), and Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), all conveners of the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition. Meanwhile, KALIPUNAN is comprised of groups Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Kilos Maralita (KM), PAKISAMA, PM, SENTRO, and World March of Women.

 

Also joining the march were the Akbayan party, the human rights group In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement or iDefend, Tindig Pilipinas, UPAC and DAMPA.

 

Urban poor residents from Parola and Baseco in Tondo, particularly those from Isla Puting Bato and Slip 0, called on the government to prioritize and fund housing programs for the poor instead of pushing for chacha which offers land ownership to foreign citizens. Women and youth participants also voiced their demands for wider social services and the eradication of violence.

 

In their related statements, the groups asserted that the Constitution is not the reason why many Filipinos remain poor. They argued that the real problem lies in the concentration of wealth in a few hands and the dynastic governance of the country's leaders.

 

They also claimed that charter change was never the people’s urgent concerns such as inflation, wage hike and unemployment, hence there is no reason for lawmakers to prioritize it.

 

The Koalisyon Laban sa Chacha is a coalition of church, sectors, and community groups launched on February 14 to oppose charter change while simultaneously advocating for the people's demands, deepening democracy, and good governance.

 

Following the mass, the coalition conducted their program including sectoral speeches, during which they called on the Comelec to completely halt the people’s initiative. Part of the action also included commemorating the People Power that began on February 22, 1986.

 

They vowed to continue opposing cha-cha until the people’s initiative and even the convening of ConAss for economic charter change are completely stopped. 

Photos and videos can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/

NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition

Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa (KALIPUNAN)

February 22, 2024

Advance basic sectors’ agenda, not charter change for the rich and foreign capital

 

Members of the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition staged another protest in front of the Senate on the eve of Valentine's Day against charter change (chacha), simultaneous with the Senate's ongoing investigation into reported anomalies in the gathering of signatures for the people’s initiative (PI) to amend the Constitution.

 

Joined by Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa (KALIPUNAN), the two groups urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to prioritize the immediate needs of the working people, such as increasing workers' wages, lowering the prices of goods, jobs crisis, combating poverty and violence, including those against women, and addressing the climate crisis, which is the biggest global problem today.

 

“Ang dapat pusuan ng mga mambabatas ay wage hike at pagkamit sa living wage, hindi ang chacha para sa mayaman at dayuhan," said Partido Manggagawa (PM) Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda, challenging the Senate to finally pass the proposed P100 wage hike bill, which was already reported in plenary by Committee on Labor Chair Sen. Jinggoy Estrada last week.

 

Miranda emphasized that the same should be done in the House of Representatives, where bills proposing P150, P750 and P33,000/month for public sector workers wage hikes as well as the abolition of regional wage boards are pending, instead of leading a fake people’s initiative.

 

Furthermore, creating green and climate jobs to address chronic unemployment and climate crisis is a new social imperative that Congress needs to decisively address, said Miranda.

 

Meanwhile, Josua Mata, one of the conveners of NAGKAISA! and Secretary General of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), stated that even the ongoing Senate hearings on economic charter change not only consume time but also divert attention from the real problems of the masses because the blame is placed on the Constitution rather than on the unequal distribution of wealth and dynastic governance in our country.

 

"The Constitution did not hinder us from developing our own industries. But we don't even have an industrial policy. In fact, foreign interest prevented us from doing so through the dictates of the IMF-WB and WTO for liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. But why are we blaming the Constitution now,” asked Mata to the proponents of economic charter change.

 

Mata also warned that opening up charter change in many ways could also lead to disregarding its provision prohibiting the entry of nuclear arms into the country, especially when the same is not strictly enforced in the case of the entry of US military hardware into the country.

 

This is a reaction to reports that the Philippines is expecting the arrival of nuclear-capable BraHmos supersonic missiles imported from India for P21 billion. "Is there a plan for the Philippines to become a nuclear power while the majority of Filipinos remain poor?"

Photos can be accessed at PM FB page: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid02Zi4mJTniMUU3EHTybNhUKHqFZv3EeZUs2fpK17pP7DNkq2QDLikFcVeMeHnDmzYNl

NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition

February 13, 2024

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. ###

Media Advisory: Workers to hold solidarity action tonight with Myanmar/Burma

In time for a global call of solidarity by the international labor movement, workers' organizations and social movements in the Philippines led by Partido Manggagawa, Nagkaisa and Kalipunan will hold a noise barrage tonight

Feb 11, 7pm - 8pm

Boy Scout Rotonda, Timog Ave

Contact Wilson Fortaleza @ 09452182693

Bato hit for indifference to 11K ABS-CBN workers

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) today 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 are 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.

On Monday, PM and other groups like Kalipunan and I-Defend are mobilizing to call for resistance to the repression of democratic rights and 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.

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.”

“Higher wages and better working conditions for ABS-CBN workers and the regularization of some 10,000 so-called talents in the network are the same popular demands of Filipino workers. Survey after survey reveal that regular jobs and decent wages are desired by the Filipino people,” Magtubo explained.

The group joined the clamor against the threat to shutdown ABS-CBN. “Stop the threat to end the franchise of ABS-CBN but the company must also stop endo among its workers,” demanded Magtubo.

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 his lackeys like Bato, 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 19, 2020

Southern Luzon network of civil society groups launch Manlaban Ka

A Southern Luzon-wide network of civil society organizations working for the promotion and protection of human rights was launched in Cavite.

Some 300 representatives of basic sectors from labor, urban poor, farmers, fisherfolks, women, youth, transport workers, church and anti mining advocates, gathered Wednesday at the historic Casa Hacienda popularly known as the Tejeros Convention Center in Rosario Cavite, to launch the Mamamayang Nagkakaisa sa Laban ng Bayan para sa Karapatan or Manlaban Ka.

Made part of the launching program is a forum on charter change and human rights with constitutionalist Christian Monsod and former Representative Erin Tanada as guest speakers. Representatives of the CHR also graced the occasion.

The formal launching of Manlaban Ka ended up with the ratification of the group’s Unity Statement and a brief discussion on the network's ways forward such as conducting grassroots education, database building on cases of HRVs, operational structures and ways forward. (see attached unity statement)

The formal launching was followed by a march of the participants to the Cavite economic zone in support of the strikebound workers of Dong Seung, a garments factory. During the past several months, a series of labor disputes around the freedom of association and working conditions have rocked the Cavite ecozone, the country's biggest publicly-managed zone.

Ecozones particularly in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas employ tens of thousands of workers. Regrettably it is also in these economic havens of foreign investors in the country where rampant violations of human and labor rights go unchecked and the violators go unpunished.

The launching of Manlaban Ka is the final outcome of a five-month process of consultations and focus group discussions among the basic sectors and civil society organizations working for the promotion and defence of human rights in the Southen Luzon region. This partnership building initiatives among the CSOs is in cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) under its Governance in Justice or Go Just program.

The Southern Luzon process was facilitated by Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa, with Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) as lead organizations.

Prior to this launching, consultation meetings were held in Calamba City last April 7-9, 2018 where participants discussed the state of human rights in their respective areas and sectors. Resource speakers were invited in this process to give inputs on the many aspects and forms of human rights issues, including the many cases of extrajudicial killings in the southern Luzon region due to the ongoing war on drugs as well as violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of our workers, farmers, urban poor, women; and the destruction of many communities due to mining and land-grabbing activities.

Representatives from Bicol, Mimaropa, and the Calabarzon areas have actively participated in the previous process leading to their decision to form this loose but highly coordinative network of organizations willing to work together for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Part of Manlaban Ka Unity Statement declared:

“NANININDIGAN ang MANLABAN KA na ang mga karapatang pantao at demokrasya kung saan maraming aspeto nito ay hindi pa namin ganap na natatamasa, ay nararapat lamang na ipagtanggol at ipaglaban sa halip na isuko sa harap ng sinumang kapangyarihan na may hayagan at tagong layunin na ito’y pahinain o kaya ay ganap na patayin.

KUNG GAYUN,  at mula sa mga batayang nabanggit, kami’y nangangahas at ngayon ay ipinapaalam sa lahat, na kaming mga sektor at indibidwal na nabibilang sa koalisyong ito, ay nakahanda nang MANLABAN sa ibat-ibang paraan katulad ng pagmumulat, pag-oorganisa, pagpapalawak at mga direktang pagkilos para ipagtanggol ang karapatan at demokrasya ng buong sambayanan.”

PRESS RELEASE

Manlaban Ka

30 May 2018

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