May baon bang pagbabago si Secretary Tolentino?

Dahil ang pinalitan niyang Kalihim sa Department of Labor and Employment ay hindi malapit sa manggagawa at hindi rin maganda ang performance, ang inaasahan na kapalit ay mas maayos, kundi man kabaliktaran. 

 

Prerogative ng Pangulo ang pagpili nang kanyang alter-ego at pinuno sa mga departamento at ahensya ng pamahalaan. Walang say dito ang manggagawa, kung kaya’t ang pagsalubong sa bagong talagang Kalihim ay sa paraan ng paghamon namin gustong idadaan.

 

Ang hamon ay kung may baon bang pagbabago si Sec. Tolentino sa DOLE? Ito ang nais naming marinig sa kanyang unang araw sa tanggapan. 

 

Nakabinbin ngayon ang mga panukalang batas sa Kongreso para sa P200 dagdag-sahod at panukalang abolisyon ng provincial rate. Kasabay nito ay nakahain din sa regional wage boards ang mga petisyon wage hike mula P200 hanggang P1,200. Nariyan pa rin ang problema sa endo at mga hadlang sa malayang pag-uunyon.

 

Kaya ba ng bagong Kalihim na ang mga ito ay itulak at pabilisin? 

 

Sa harap ang kasalukuyang krisis ay tumataas din ang ang unemployment rate kaya mahalagang agenda ang job creation, kabilang ang green jobs kung saan lead agency ang DOLE, at reporma sa public employment program.

 

Mahirap na trabaho ang magbalanse ng interes ng manggagawa at kapitalista. Pero bilang abogado ay alam dapat ni Secretary Tolentino na sa usapin ng social justice, mas matimbang ang kapakanan ng paggawa kaysa sa tubo ng negosyo. Ito ang mas mahalaga sa manggagawa, dahil dito nagsisimula ang tama at unang hakbang ng isang pinuno.

 

PRESS STATEMENT

Partido Manggagawa

26 May 2026

Group slams DOLE intervention to stop strike at power plant

The group Partido Manggagawa slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for imposing an assumption of jurisdiction (AJ) order that stopped the union at the KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) Cebu coal power plant from staging a work stoppage. The union has been deadlocked in its collective bargaining (CB) negotiations with the company.

 

“The DOLE’s AJ is favorable to the company as it prevents workers from exercising leverage to achieve its reasonable demands. Moreso, DOLE violated its own DO 40-H-13 in imposing an AJ without the following the required procedure. Both KEPCO and DOLE are pasaway (misbehaving) labor relations actors!,” stated Dennis Derige, union organizer of SENTRO and spokesperson for the PM chapter in Cebu.

 

The KEPCO union is an affiliate of SENTRO and its members voted overwhelmingly for a strike, as required by law. DOLE’s AJ was handed down on the eve of the planned strike . “Since the union could not legally go on strike, KEPCO remains hardline in its bargaining position as it felt relieved of the pressure of an impending work stoppage,” Derige added.

 

The deadlocked CB provisions included wage increase, medical allowance, signing bonus, union security, grievance procedures, agency fees and the formation of a just transition committee composed of the union and management.

 

Derige explained that “None of the union’s economic and political demands are controversial or excessive. In fact, the union has shown flexibility by reducing its initial demands. But KEPCO—despite being stable and profitable—has been intransigent and just disrespects the union.”

 

He added that DOLE DO 40-H-13 requires that an AJ can only be ordered if either both parties requested for an AJ or the DOLE first called for a conference of the two parties prior to the issuance of the AJ. Derige said that neither of these two conditions were satisfied.

 

According to latest information posted on the National Conciliation and Mediation Board’s website, the DOLE has already issued three AJ’s as of February this year. In comparison seven AJs were imposed for the whole year of 2024. The Philippine government has been the subject of complaints to the International Labour Organization for its indiscriminate use of AJs that results in the effective prohibition of the right to strike, aside from the killings of trade unionists and other forms of repression of the freedom to unionize.

April 4, 2025

Action on killing of unionist demanded as PH remains on list of worst countries for workers

 

The group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the administration of President Bong Bong Marcos Jr. for action on the case of union organizer Dennis Sequeña who was killed five years ago as the Philippines remained on the list of the world’s worst countries for workers for eight straight years. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the peak global body of organized labor, released the list as part of its 2024 Global Rights Index.

 

“It has been five long years of seeking justice for our friend and comrade Dennis who was shot to death on June 2, 2019 while speaking at a labor rights seminar for Cavite export zone workers in Tanza. We demand that President Marcos Jr resolve the case as the ITUC list is a wake up call for government. Further, action is needed as part of his administration’s commitment to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) High-Level Tripartite Mission (HLTM) which conducted a probe last January 2023,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina city councilor.

 

Sequeña’s fatal shooting days before the annual ILO conference in 2019 sparked outrage among delegates and led to the decision to send the HLTM to the country to investigate the series of labor-related killings and other violations of the right to unionize in the country. It however took more than four years since that ILO decision for the HLTM to actually conduct its probe. Still, the ILO HLTM concluded that the “presence of a ‘mindset linking’ unions to the insurgency without the benefit of due process, [which] has led to a climate of impunity and violations of workers’ rights” and recommended the formation of a presidential body to resolve the 72 unsolved cases of labor-related killings as of the end of 2023.

 

“The government’s submission to the Committee on the Application of Standards which reviewed the complaints against the Philippine state at the just concluded ILO annual conference states that concrete action has been undertaken by the concerned agencies. We know that there has been none regarding the case of Dennis. This despite the fact that the provincial tripartite monitoring body resolved that the killing of Dennis was labor-related and that the AO 35 Committee headed by the Department of Justice acquired jurisdiction of the case years ago,” Magtubo explained.

 

“The brutal murder of Dennis has become a cold case after five years because of inaction by the government despite the presence of leads and findings by bodies such as the provincial tripartite body and the AO 35 Committee. His case reveals the disconnect between words and actions by the government on the prevailing impunity against union leaders and activists,” Magtubo ended. 

June 16, 2024

 

Nagkaisa Welcomes ILO Review, Lambasts DOLE for Evasion and Misrepresentation

 

Manila – Nagkaisa, the largest coalition of labor organizations in the Philippines, welcomes the review of the country’s adherence to freedom of association by the ILO’s Committee on Applications and Standards (CAS) adopted last 7 June 2024 in Geneva.

 

Held on the occasion of the 124th session of the ILO International Labour Conference in Geneva, the coalition condemned the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its blatant evasion and misrepresentation of the issues at hand.

 

During the CAS discussion, speakers from at least ten countries raised serious concerns about ongoing labor rights violations in the Philippines. These international criticisms highlight a stark reality: that the Philippine government has FAILED to implement the recommendations of the ILO High-Level Tripartite Mission (HLTM).

 

"DOLE’s leadership has failed the workers by masking the truth and allowing these violations to persist," said Nagkaisa spokesperson Renato Magtubo.

 

DOLE’s lack of action and apparent duplicity, he added, “blackened the government’s credibility” on the very day that the Philippines was elected as deputy member to the governing body of the ILO.

 

“Back home Sec. Laguesma needs to comply with the directive of the President to recite the pledge and Bagong Pilipinas hym, ‘Panahon na ng Pagbabago’, during flag ceremonies. But with his actions lacking the patriotic and collective spirit of ‘magtulong-tulong’ and ‘ayusin ang dapat ayusin’, change is far from becoming a reality in DOLE,” lamented Magtubo.

 

Nagkaisa insists that DOLE failed to deliver justice to all the 72 trade union leaders killed from 2016 to 2023. On top of that, DOLE apparently does not want to face the reality that red-tagging, abductions, surveillance and profiling and other forms of harassments persists because the Executive Order No. 70 that established the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) remain firmly in place.

 

“We’d like to remind Sec. Laguesma that his inability to address long-standing labor rights issues in the Philippines have serious implications for trade and investments that President Marcos has been working out with the international community since day one,” Magtubo said, adding that the responsibility for this crisis in the making lies squarely with the leadership of the DOLE.

 

The protection and promotion of labor rights are essential to fostering a fair and just society, which in turn, is crucial for sustainable economic growth and attracting international investments.

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition

10 June 2024

STATEMENT ON THE CONSULTATION BY THE NCR WAGE BOARD

STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING CONSULTATION BY THE NCR WAGE BOARD TO REVIEW MATTERS RELATED TO WAGES

Held at the Occupational Safety and Health Center, Quezon City

 

We came here not because we wanted a review of the wage orders issued by the NCR wage board as directed by the president on Labor Day, but to straightly express our collective sentiments regarding the failure of this body to lift millions of minimum wage earners out of poverty over the past 35 years!

 

Our position:

 

1. There is nothing to review about the Php40 wage increase received by NCR workers in July 2023 because everybody knows it is not even half of the value of wages eroded by inflation. In fact, Business World already released a calculation of the real wage of the nominal wage adjusted for inflation this April, where the Php610 minimum wage in NCR, the highest in the country, is now only worth Php502.60.

 

2. Your review, no matter how serious, cannot correct the failures and shortcomings of the regional wage boards over the past 35 years in raising the minimum wage nationwide above the poverty line, and especially not in achieving at least one thousand pesos of the estimated family living wage per day as mandated by our Constitution.

 

3. On the contrary, we collectively believe that what needs to be reviewed are the wage boards in all regions and the law that created them, RA 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989. This review should be conducted by the Congress that created this law, with the aim of rectifying the injustice suffered by workers over the past 35 years!

 

4. We have already approached Congress to legislate a Php150 wage increase to help workers recover their take-home pay affected by rising prices of goods and services, and to review the wage setting mechanisms in the country. The Senate has already passed a Php100 wage increase, and public hearings are ongoing in the House Committee on Labor for a Php150 increase. We rather urge the wage board to support our efforts in convincing Congress if you truly wish to help alleviate the difficult lives of workers and their families due to low wages and high prices of goods and services.

 

5. Lastly, we came here to say directly that it is likely that you were simply instructed by DOLE Secretary Laguesma to expedite the process to preempt and derail the impending action of Congress to legislate a wage increase, which he and ECOP vehemently oppose. The Secretary, to us, acts as a spokesperson for the capitalists by joining business groups in propagating the “catastrophic” blackmail that a P150 legislated wage hike will lead to company closures, price hikes, and drive away investors – issues that were effectively debunked by labor leaders, economists, and academe in recent public hearings conducted by the Labor Committee of the House of Representatives.

 

Nonetheless, we thank the RWPB-NCR for your invitation, allowing us to express our long-held anger and grievances against a system deliberately designed in a capitalist manner to keep workers in perpetual poverty. We apologize if we have nothing more to say that will please the Board.

23 May 2024

Labor party wants Laguesma out of DOLE

The Partido Manggagawa (PM) is issuing this statement, which calls for the resignation of Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, primarily because of his obstinate stand against the proposed legislated wage hike.

His strong opposition against this proposal, despite the regional wage boards’ failure to raise wages beyond the poverty threshold and to narrow down the gap between the minimum wage and living wage during the last 35 years, lay bare all the pretensions about the protection of labor rights and the government’s pledge to raise the Filipino families’ standard of living.  

By speaking against legislating wages, Laguesma dropped the workers in favor of employers. His concern about the economy becomes even clearer when he blocks wage growth, which is the workers’ only source of economic life.

We want him out of DOLE for he will never represent the working class. His background speaks more of him dealing with and lawyering for corporate owners aside from being one of the richest and highest paid officials in the Marcos Cabinet.

Partido Manggagawa

09 May 2024

Labor group slams Laguesma’s doomsday scenario

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma for speculating that the P100 legislated wage hike will have an adverse impact on the economy, especially on small and medium enterprises.

 

“Labor Secretary Laguesma is singing the same old song with employers about economic difficulties once workers are granted a substantial wage hike. But they are singing out of tune as their doomsday scenario is refuted by economic indicators. Inflation and unemployment subsided since regional wages were increased in the latter half of 2023,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and Marikina city councilor.

 

PM welcomed the plenary deliberations in the Senate on the proposed P100 legislated wage hike bill. PM and other groups in Nagkaisa are returning to the Senate on Tuesday for a bigger action to demand the passage of the proposed nationwide salary increase and also call for the scrapping of the charter change proposal.

 

According to latest figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority, headline inflation as of January 2024 is at a very low 2.8%, much reduced from the 4.7% in July 2023, when the NCR wage board ordered a P40 minimum wage hike. Inflation for year 2022 was 5.8%. Meanwhile unemployment is at 3.1% as of December 2023, down from 4.8% in July 2023. In 2022, annual unemployment was at 5.4%.

 

After the NCR wage board issued an order, other regional boards successively granted minimum wage increases in the succeeding months of 2023 and up to January this year.

 

“Workers in all regions got minimum wage hikes in 2022. Further, all regional wage boards, except the one in BARMM, issued wage orders in 2023. In all that time, inflation and unemployment went on a secular decline in opposition to the dire predictions of employers and the DOLE,” Magtubo explained.

 

He added that “We call on the Senate and the House not to be blackmailed by the apocalyptic forecasts of enemies of the working class.”

 

PM has been advocating for “Chicha not chacha” in the face of the trapo-driven people’s initiative and the proposed Resolution of Both Houses 6. The group argues that the pro-worker and social justice provisions of the Constitution must be enforced. PM opposes amending the Constitution to pave the way for more foreign control of the economy and greater trapo domination of politics.

February 10, 2024

Laguesma wants the accused to be the judge

Photo from Pag-ibig

 

                                                                                                             

The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma’s rationale for excluding workers’ representatives in the newly created Inter-Agency Committee for the Protection of the Freedom of Association and Right to Organize of Workers.

 

“Secretary Laguesma wants the accused to be the judge in labor rights cases. If we follow Laguesma’s faulty logic that complainants cannot be the judge then more so the accused. Laguesma’s logic betrays his class war framework that pays lip service to social dialogue principles. The demand that workers’ representatives sit in the Inter-Agency Committee is aligned with the normative tenet of tripartism in resolving labor cases and disputes,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

On the eve of Labor Day, an Executive Order signed by President Bongbong Marcos created the Inter-Agency Committee with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin as chair, Laguesma as vice chair and includes other government agencies but excludes trade unions and employers’ groups. The security sector, specifically the Department of National Defense, National Security Council and the Philippine National Police, sits in the Inter-Agency Committee.

 

“Security forces are the usual respondents, along with several employers, in the 380 cases involving killings, abductions, arrests, harassments and red-tagging of unionists detailed in the report of the workers to the International Labour Organization’s High-Level Tripartite Mission (ILO HLTM) last January,” Magtubo elaborated.

 

He added that “Laguesma’s slip is showing. What can workers expect from a Labor Secretary that makes lame excuses for banning trade unions? This behavior may be expected of the government’s security forces but cannot be the attitude of a Labor Secretary.”

 

The creation of the Inter-Agency Committee was the government response to the ILO HLTM recommendations. The annual ILO conference next month will consider if the Philippine government had adequately responded to the recommendations.

 

Magtubo insisted that “We ask the government to heed fully the ILO HLTM recommendations, especially for a Presidential Commission that includes workers’ representatives. The clock is ticking as the ILO annual conference is due to open in a month’s time.”

 

Some 10,000 workers in last Monday’s huge Labor Day rally in Manila and similar labor unity protests in other cities called for respect for the right to unionize along with demands for a wage hike and an end to contractualization. 

Press Release

May 4, 2023

Workers welcome DOLE review of P100 wage petition, call for tripartite talks

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma

 

The labor group Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) welcomed the statement by Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma that the government is reviewing the P100 wage hike petition even as it asserted that it had not been consulted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the matter.

 

Kapatiran is asking the DOLE to immediately convene a tripartite meeting to discuss the wage increase as a response to the cost-of-living crisis. Labor Secretary Laguesma stated the other day that the DOLE is studying the wage petition and is conducting consultations.

 

“We call on Labor Secretary Laguesma to hold a tripartite meeting on the wage hike petition,” demanded Rey Almendras, president of Kapatiran and union president of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union.

 

He added that “As the petitioner for the P100 wage increase in the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board, Kapatiran expects to be among the groups consulted. Unless Secretary Laguesma is only holding dialogues with employers not workers. Especially since he seemed very concerned that the government needs to do a balancing act over the wage hike demand. Why is it that the government is overly worried about the capacity to pay of employers and not the capacity to buy of workers?”

 

Kapatiran filed a petition for a P100 minimum wage hike at the NCR wage board on December 6, 2022. The group argued that workers need to recover the eroded purchasing power of wages. “Kapatiran calls on other labor groups to link up arms in order to win war—that is, wage increase for wage recovery,” declared Almendras.

 

Runaway inflation has already cut P88 from the P570 minimum wage of NCR workers according to a computation by Partido Manggagawa (PM) based on the latest consumer price index data of the Philippine Statistics Authority. Inflation in January this year rose to 8.7%, much higher than the 8.1% in December.

 

“We call for a new round of wage hikes to recover the lost purchasing power of workers not just in Metro Manila but in the whole country due to the surge in inflation. The P33 minimum wage hike in June 2022 has been effectively wiped out by runaway inflation and workers’ real wages have pushed back even further,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a city councilor of Marikina.

 

The group clarified that the wage hike demand is merely wage recovery. “We are not yet even talking of workers claiming a just share in the fruits of their labor. From 2001 to 2016, real wages stagnated but labor productivity increased by 50% and the GDP doubled,” Magtubo maintained.

February 13, 2023

Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa