PM Marks Ninoy Aquino Day, Links Martial Law’s Ghosts to Today’s Ghost Projects and Political Dynasties

The nation marks the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. today — a crime whose full circumstances remain unresolved to this day. For the Partido Manggagawa, this should not be a day of ceremony and long weekends alone. It should be a day of reckoning: which parts of the old system of plunder and impunity are still with us, and who continues to pay the price?

 

“Ninoy was killed because he tried to end a system that thrives on unaccountable power. Forty-three years later, that same system survives — no longer in the form of a corrupt dictatorship, but in the form of systemic corruption and proliferation of political dynasties,” said Ka Rene Magtubo, Chairperson of the Partido Manggagawa. 

 

Department of Finance data shows the Philippine economy lost between P42.3 billion and P118.5 billion to “ghost” flood control projects from 2023 to 2025. For his part, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson disclosed that a total of ₱1.939 trillion for flood control programs spanning three administrations from 2011 to 2025 was allocated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and supposes that around 35% to 40% of this multi-trillion-peso fund may have been lost to systemic corruption.

 

“Hundreds of thousands of jobs could have been created and better public services provided to our people had the funds not been stolen,” stressed Magtubo.

 

Compounding the theft, 67 members of Congress were themselves contractors on their own state-funded projects in 2022 — a conflict of interest the system allowed to operate in plain sight. “This is the real twin defect in our governance: the very officials tasked with safeguarding public funds are the ones profiting from them,” said Magtubo. 

 

“It mirrors exactly what the Pasig RTC is now doing against Wage Order 27 — an authority meant to uphold the law instead of violating it,” Magtubo added, referring to the pending injunction against the NCR minimum wage increase. 

 

The scandal also exposes a deeper structural rot: there is no genuine political freedom while political dynasties dominate every branch of government. Many of the officials, contractors, and enablers named in the flood control probe are bound by family ties spanning Congress, local government, and the contracting industry itself — allowing public funds to be recycled within the same clans instead of reaching the public they are meant to serve. 

 

This is precisely why Partido Manggagawa has long pushed for a genuine anti-political dynasty law: without it, elections change faces, but not the families who control both the public purse and public policy. 

 

Magtubo stressed that every peso stolen through ghost projects is a peso denied to social services, decent wages, and effective labor law enforcement. “While business groups and some officials claim the economy ‘cannot afford’ a wage hike, billions of pesos continue flowing into phantom projects that deliver nothing concrete for the people. That is where public anger belongs — not against workers simply asking for a wage that covers daily survival.” 

 

The Partido Manggagawa is calling for: 

 

§ Full accountability for those involved in the flood control scam — not only lawyers and lower-level staff, but the principals in Congress and the executive branch; 

§ Abolition of the “allocables” funding system that remains open to the same abuse; 

§ Passage of a genuine anti-political dynasty law, to break the family monopolies over public office and public funds that make scandals like this possible; 

§ Immediate lifting of the injunction against Wage Order 27, as proof that government prioritizes workers over businesses fearful of a wage increase; 

§ Legislation of a national minimum wage that removes the process from wage boards easily influenced by the same interests behind the ghost projects. 

 

“Remembering Ninoy should not end with fighting for political freedom. It must also include the fight for economic freedom — against corruption, against poverty, and against a system that continues to impoverish workers while enriching the few,” Magtubo concluded.

PRESS RELEASE

21 August 2026

 

Workers urge the nation to never forget ‘karahasan at kahirapan’ under martial law

Members of Partido of Manggagawa (PM) joined other human rights defenders under the umbrella of In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (IDefend) in urging the nation to never forget the atrocities committed under the martial law regime imposed by Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

 

The call was made during a rally held last night at the People Power Monument in Quezon City on eve of the 51st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law.

 

But more than the violence and atrocities that continue to persist even under the administration of the son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., PM remembers the grueling poverty endured by Filipinos during that dark period, including the rice crisis and the debt problem.

 

"Hindi lang dahas ang mayroon sa ilalim ng diktadura ni Marcos, Sr. at sa administrasyon ni Marcos, Jr. ngayon. Pareho ding may krisis sa bigas sa kanilang panahon," said PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda.

 

Miranda added that under the present administration, the cost-of-living crisis is deteriorating faster yet the first family and other top government officials are always seen just enjoying their grand display of wealth and power.

 

“Workers’ wages are eroded by high prices of food and other services, but the President and Vice President’s confidential funds were rising at exponential levels since 2022,” said Miranda.

 

She also lashed out at the way security forces today conduct themselves with impunity, citing as an example the two environmentalist youths who were kidnapped by the military in plain sight.

 

“With these illegal activities being tolerated by the higher ups in the chain of command, including the commander-in-chief, we all must be reminded that our human rights are seriously threatened under another Marcos and another Duterte, thus the need to fight back,” Miranda concluded.

21 September 2023

Workers join protests to commemorate “dark days” of martial law

Candle light protest 20 Sept 2022

 

Militant workers are joining activities to commemorate the “dark days” of martial law. Today is the 50^th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that the dictatorship era was a period of labor militancy not a golden age for workers.

 

Labor and other sectoral groups are having a rally at the grounds of the Commission on Human Rights this morning before marching in the afternoon to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Last night, delegations of workers students, women and other sectors held a candle-lighting activity at the Boy Scout rotunda in Timog Ave., Quezon City.

 

“We call on our kababayans to hold candle-lighting activities in our homes and communities tonight to shine a light on the darkness of authoritarianism and revisionism. Let us remember the sacrifices and struggles of workers and other sectors during the dictatorship,” announced Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary general.

 

“There was massive discontent by workers during the martial period over low wages, high prices, insecure jobs and employer abuse. In fact, despite repression by police and soldiers under the dictatorship, workers led protests and strikes that broke the white terror of martial law. The struggles of the labor movement would open the way for multi-sectoral rallies that culminated in the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the EDSA people’s uprising. This period is well documented if not well remembered by the present generation,” explained Miranda.

 

She added that “Immediately after martial law was declared, then President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. signed General Order No. 5 prohibiting strikes by workers. The American chamber of commerce was one of the first groups to congratulate Marcos on the declaration of martial law. All these reveal the class character of martial law—it was not just to outflank the liberal opposition rivals of Marcos but also to suppress the resistance of the working class to plunder and exploitation.”

 

Miranda insisted that “Contrary to the fake news peddled by social media influencers and amplified by a paid army of trolls, martial law was not a time of happiness for Filipinos nor a period of economic prosperity. A case in point, nutribuns were a response to widespread hunger and malnutrition. However, plunder of the public treasury, theft of debt-financed development projects and crony control of key industries indeed resulted in a golden age for the Marcoses.”

 

Photos of the candle lighting protest last night are here: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid0JwF9cF6C9hdfFnpQVF4ppRR4wTF7FVJy3vddvYnjR8LXiAM9TVfsZ2Nso3e9SqPWl

September 21, 2022

Martial law was a period of labor militancy not a golden age for workers—labor group

Globe Steel strike in the 1980's. Photo from Rappler

 

On the eve of the 50^th anniversary of the declaration of martial law, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that the dictatorship era was a period of labor militancy not a golden age for workers.

 

“There was massive discontent by workers during the martial period over low wages, high prices, insecure jobs and employer abuse. In fact, despite repression by police and soldiers under the dictatorship, workers led protests and strikes that broke the white terror of martial law. The struggles of the labor movement would open the way for multi-sectoral rallies that culminated in the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the EDSA people’s uprising. This period is well documented if not well remembered by the present generation,” explained Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

 

PM is joining activities by various groups today and tomorrow to commemorate the dark days of martial law and to remember the sacrifices and struggles of workers and other sectors during the dictatorship.

 

“Workers will join students, women and other sectors to a candle-lighting activity at 6:00 p.m. today at the Boy Scout rotunda in Timog Ave., Quezon City. Tomorrow, groups will have a rally at the grounds of the Commission on Human Rights at 9:00 am before marching in the afternoon to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. We call on our kababayans to hold candle-lighting activities in our homes and communities tomorrow to shine a light on the darkness of authoritarianism and revisionism,” Miranda elaborated.

 

She added that “Immediately after martial law was declared, then President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. signed General Order No. 5 prohibiting strikes by workers. The American chamber of commerce was one of the first groups to congratulate Marcos on the declaration of martial law. All these reveal the class character of martial law—it was not just to outflank the liberal opposition rivals of Marcos but also to suppress the resistance of the working class to plunder and exploitation.”

 

Miranda insisted that “Contrary to the fake news peddled by social media influencers and amplified by a paid army of trolls, martial law was not a time of happiness for Filipinos nor a period of economic prosperity. A case in point, nutribuns were a response to widespread hunger and malnutrition. However, plunder of the public treasury, theft of debt-financed development projects and crony control of key industries indeed resulted in a golden age for the Marcoses.”

September 20, 2022

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. ###

Martial law legality is more impunity – labor group

Photo from Rappler

The decision is extremely disappointing but not surprising. This is how the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) reacted to the Supreme Court verdict rendering legalities to the imposition of martial law in Mindanao. “There seems to be an established judicial pattern here. The majority justices who didn’t share the agonies of martial law victims have only seen the legality of the Marcos burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in the absence of an express law prohibiting it. In the same manner, these justices may have only seen the exclamation point in Marawi to support the President in suppressing a pocket rebellion through martial law,” stated PM Chair Renato Magtubo. The group reiterated its concern that placing the entire Mindanao under martial law may result in more human rights violations, massive dislocation of communities, and further destruction to properties and social infrastructure due to violence and prolonged military actions until the entire island is cleared of state enemies. It also warned the palace not to utilize martial law as a tool to suppress civil liberties. “Legally martial law does not suspend the free exercise of human rights, except for those who would be directly charged with the crime of rebellion or invasion. But if a culture of impunity can reign today even without martial law, how far can it go under an emboldened commander-in-chief and the police leadership who mocks and vilifies human rights to the max?,” asked PM. The death toll in Marawi is still on the rise while the destructions due to war have created a humanitarian crisis comparable to the previous wars in Mindanao. “If the picture of Marawi and the tens of thousands of bakwits who fled away from it will become the generalized condition under martial law in different parts of Mindanao, then the policy can neither be just nor beneficial to both the Muslims, Lumads and Christians in the long run,” added PM. The group, however, clarified that it is for the ultimate reign of peace and prosperity in Mindanao and that these can only be achieved through social development and political settlement of different conflicts. “The military solution was the dating daan that failed Mindanao and the entire country. It should not be repeated. It should not be extended. A repeat and extension of it will only benefit the terrorists who also crave for blood and violence to fill our land,” concluded Magtubo.

04 July 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

PM-Kabataan statement on Marcos: REAL HEROES, REAL CHANGE

Workers cry “End endo” and “Marcos Hindi Bayani” in Bonifacio Day rallies

Several thousand workers marched in key cities today to commemorate Bonifacio Day, demand a ban on contractualization and protest the hero’s burial of Marcos.

The nationwide rallies led by the labor coalition Nagkaisa were billed as a “National Day of Action Vs. Endo.” Partido Manggagawa (PM) together with other labor groups rejected the so-called “win-win” solution on contractualization and pushed for an “end endo” formula of prohibition of subcontracting of regular jobs.

“The misnamed win-win scheme proposed by employers, and promoted by the Trade and Labor Departments will not end endo. It is a scam that will lead to the utter proliferation of outsourcing and contracting out of regular jobs by the principal employers,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Member groups of Nagkaisa marched from Welcome Rotonda to Morayta where it held a program. Militant workers then joined other groups for another rally around noon at Mendiola to register labor’s condemnation of the surprise hero’s burial for Marcos. Labor organizations later participated in the broad protest at the People Power Monument called by the Coalition Against the Marcos Burial.

In Cebu City, workers marched from downtown Colon to Plaza Independencia. Industrial and sugar workers rallied at the Bacolod marker Araneta. In Davao City, workers marched from the Freedom Park to the Bonifacio Monument. 

To express labor’s twin demands, PM highlighted the slogan “Ilibing ang kontraktwalisasyon hindi ang kasalanan ni Marcos.” Magtubo averred that “Students have already made their stand known. Today workers voiced out too their position on the burning issues of our country.”

“A hero’s burial for the late dictator is a stepping stone for the return to power of another Marcos. We can’t move on to a future where the occupant of Malacanang is an unrepentant member of a family that pillaged the public treasury and burdened generations with debt,” he added.

Magtubo argued that “President Duterte is accountable for this mockery of justice. He is in fact simply paying a debt, probably not of gratitude. Duterte’s newfound respect for the letter of the law in the case of Marcos’ burial contrasts with his utter disregard for due process and human rights for most everything else, including the execution of a bloody war on drugs.”

November 30, 2016

Advisory: "End endo," "Marcos Hindi Bayani" top Bonifacio Day workers demands

MEDIA ADVISORY

November 29, 2016

Contact: Judy Ann Miranda @ 09228677522

"End endo," "Marcos Hindi Bayani" top Bonifacio Day workers demands

Workers to hold nationwide rallies tomorrow to demand "end endo" and "Marcos Hindi Bayani"

Tomorrow, November 30, 2016

8:00 a.m. Assembly at Welcome Rotonda

9:00 a.m. March to Morayta

10:00 a.m Program at Morayta: End endo

11:00 a.m. March to Mendiola and Program: Marcos Hindi Bayani 

The labor coalition Nagkaisa wil lead the Bonifacio Day commemoration at Manila with a big rally to oppose the "win-win" solution and push for the "end endo" formula that entails prohibiting all forms of contractualization, including outsourcing.

Around noon, militant labor organizations and other advocacy groups will troop to Mendiola to register the voice of the working class against the hero's burial of Marcos.

Similar rallies are to be held in other key cities:

Cebu City: 8:00 am March from downtown Colon to Plaza Independencia

Bacolod: 2:00 pm Rally at Bacolod marker Araneta

Davao City: 8:00 am March from Freedom Park to Bonifacio Monument

Workers condemn secret burial for a secret hero created by a secret deal

 

There was a secret deal to make this travesty happen. The Supreme Court decision simply rendered this political deal a legal character.

 

Today’s secret burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) is a done deal.  It was a shared triumph resulting from a highly coordinated action between the Marcos family and the Duterte government.  

 

We condemn this act as a mockery of justice and an affront to the principles civility.  Why bury a ‘hero’, their ‘honorable’ leader, sneakily away from national curiosity? Hence, it rather looks like a burial  for a high level terrorist rather than one with state honors.

 

The secret burial did not only deny the victims of martial law the chance to reverse the verdict against their tormentor.  It also reduced the peoples’ genuine quest for justice a trivial chasing game of chance under the present administration.

PM & iDefend to hold protest 5:00 pm today at Boy Scout Rotunda, Timog 

November 18, 2016

There is a Marcosian solution to a parochial problem – PM

 

It is the Marcos family and not the whole nation that needs to move on by giving their dead a final resting place in Ilocos. 

 

This was according to Partido Manggagawa (PM), one of the many groups that assembled today in Luneta to express opposition to the Palace-backed burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). 

 

“Hindi sa hindi bayani” is the group’s stand against the plan of giving Marcos a hero’s burial at Libingan.

 

“The former dictator ruthlessly ruled and divided this nation for over two decades, thus, his burial at Libingan can never be considered a unifying action.  It is the Marcos family that needs to move on in this issue by doing a simple and final act of laying their dead in Ilocos,” said the group in a statement sent to media.

 

This Marcosian solution, the group believes, is the proper way of disposing a parochial problem common to powerful oligarchs that rule this nation.  “Consume your troubles as yours alone as the Filipino people have deeper problems to confront, many of which were in fact of your creation,” said PM.

 

The group likewise believed the presidential endorsement made by President Duterte cannot bring this issue to a final closure, saying his personal commitment to the Marcos family does not necessarily represent the unified sentiment of the Filipino people.

August 14, 2016

La Tondena workers commemorate 40th anniversary of historic strike

La Tondena workers commemorate 40^th anniversary of historic strike

Amidst concerns from some quarters that the vice presidential candidacy of Sen. Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos, Jr. would pave the way for the return to Malacanang of the former dictator’s family, retired workers of La Tondena Inc., commemorated the 40^th anniversary of the historic first strike under martial law. About a hundred participants to the strike gathered in a basketball court in Tondo, Manila last October 24 to keep up the legacy of the famous workers struggle.

“Beyond renewing the bonds of friendship and camaraderie among La Tondena strikers, we believe the lessons of the first strike under the Marcos dictatorship should be passed on to the new generation. We are dual citizens now, senior citizens aside from being Filipino citizens, but we have to impart to the younger workers the ideals, hopes and traditions of the workers’ movement,” explained Benjie Roxas Jr., a participant to the 1975 strike and present leader of the Tondo chapter of the party-list Partido Manggagawa (PM).

In October 24, 1975, some 800 workers of La Tondena stopped work and held a sit-down strike to demand the regularization of contractuals and the reinstatement of retrenched temporary workers. With the support of the workers’ community around the factory and the solidarity of nuns, priests and seminarians, the strike lasted for 44 hours before being suppressed by the wholesale arrests of hundreds of strikers. But the strike did not end in defeat, as the then owners, the Palancas, conceded to some of the workers’ demands, including the regularization of 300 contractuals.

“But the lasting legacy of the La Tondena strike was to break the terror of martial law and defy the protest ban of the Marcos dictatorship. In the aftermath of the pioneering and victorious La Tondena struggle, a strike wave swept Metro Manila and the militant workers movement was reborn despite massive repression. The EDSA uprising of 1986 built upon mass struggles like the La Tondena strike,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM chair and former president of Fortune Tobacco labor union, which like the La Tondena union was politicized by fighting for workers’ rights under the dictatorship.

La Tondena was eventually bought by the San Miguel conglomerate and the union did not survive the closure of the Tondo factory in 1994. The company was renamed Ginebra San Miguel Inc. in 1987 and today two factories in Cabuyao, Laguna and Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan make most of its products.

In last year’s remembrance of the La Tondena strike, Gerry Rivera, president of the union Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) and PM vice chair, spoke before the retired workers. He recalled that “As I paid my deep respects to the brave La Tondena strikers, I emphasized how strikingly similar their demands and struggles were to the present fight of workers, including ours in PALEA, under the conditions of trapo democracy instead of martial law.”

Arguably the biggest labor dispute for the past several years, PALEA has been opposing contractualization at Philippine Airlines and has garnered the support of the Catholic Church among others. “Protesting PALEA members were forcibly evicted and bodily carried too by armed guards and police from the airport in 2011, just like how La Tondena workers were hauled in Metrocom buses in 1975. We dare to win too like the La Tondena strikers and defeat contractualization eventually,” Rivera ended.

November 3, 2015