Workers group slam billionaire app owner running as partylist nominee

 

The workers group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the owner of the platform app Angkas who is running as the first nominee of the Ang Kasangga partylist. “How can a billionaire like George Royeca represent ordinary app riders? This is another Mikey Arroyo, son of then President Gloria Arroyo, who ran as nominee of a fake security guards partylist group. Royeca is a poster boy for the undermining of the partylist system as a reform measure,” asserted Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary general.

 

She added that riders have been misclassified as freelancers by platforms and as a result have been denied the protection of labor standards and social security. “Riders have been organizing against abuses by platforms such as arbitrary cuts in pay. How can Royeca speak and fight for riders’ rights and welfare when he owns the app?,” Miranda averred.

 

According to the COMELEC, 73 partylist groups have filed their certificates of nomination and acceptance. But more are expected as 170 partylist groups have been accredited by the COMELEC.

 

“The Constitution provides for the partylist system as a mechanism for representation of marginalized groups such as workers who traditionally have been excluded from Congress as a result of elite domination of politics. Unfortunately, fake partylist groups, like Ang Kasangga of the Angkas CEO, have provided a backdoor for trapos and capitalists to enter the House of Representative. They have squeezed out legitimate partylist organizations truly representing workers and other basic sectors,” Miranda explained.

 

Ang Kasangga first ran in 2010 ostensibly as a partylist of small entrepreneurs but the COMELEC disqualified its first two nominees—a businessman and a former mayor—for not belonging to a marginalized group. In the same election, Mikey Arroyo won as security guards partylist representative.

 

PM was among the second batch of partylist groups which successfully put leaders of marginalized groups into the House of Representatives. Rene Magtubo, a factory worker and union president, sat as PM partylist representative for two terms until 2007.

Miranda called on app riders to reject Ang Kasangga and instead vote for partylist groups which truly represent workers and other underrepresented groups. 

October 7, 2024

It’s the 99%, not Gloria, who are the real victims of injustice in this country

 

Press Release

November 16, 2011

The Partido ng Mangagawa (PM) today said it is the 99% and not former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who are the real victims of tyranny and injustice in this country. Members of PM and the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) held a 2:00 p.m. rally at the Our Lady of the Airways Parish at the corner of Sucat Road and MIA Road to air their sentiments on the alleged escape of the Arroyos.

Earlier today the groups also joined running priest Fr. Robert Reyes in a picket at the Supreme Court, a day after the high tribunal allowed the former President, who is facing criminal charges, to seek medical treatment abroad. They brought placards which read: “Itlog ni Topacio ibigay kay PNoy para tumindig vs Lucio Tan,” “Panagutin si GMA sa pagnanakaw, pandaraya at pagsisinungaling. Panagutin si PNoy sa pang-aapi sa manggagawa,” “Wag patakasin si GMA sa pagkakasala sa bayan. Wag patakasin si PNoy sa pagkakasala sa manggagawa ng PAL.”

“Gloria was merely banned from leaving the country for a while, whereas thousands of PAL workers and several millions of contractuals, unemployed and underemployed out there are being denied the right to live decent lives,” stated PALEA president and PM vice chair Gerry Rivera.

Renato Magtubo, PM national chair, agreed with the position of DoJ Secretary Leila De Lima in invoking a judicial process available to all, in this case a motion for reconsideration, to take its course before Gloria is finally allowed to travel and seek medical treatment abroad. He said that “The Pinoy Bonnie and Clyde should not be allowed to escape from facing cases of stealing, cheating and lying. They will not get any sympathy from oppressed workers in their attempt to fly out of the country and out of reach of justice.”

“As to PAL’s implementation of its outsourcing plan we stand by our position that outsourcing should not be implemented while the case remains pending before the Court of Appeals,” said Rivera.

Unfortunately thousands of PAL workers were thrown out of work since October 1, 2011 when De Lima’s boss, President Benigno Aquino, allowed Lucio Tan to proceed in firing 2,600 its regular employees and outsource their jobs to third party service providers in clear violation of the Constitution, the Labor Code and international conventions. 

The only difference between the two cases, Magtubo added, is that PAL’s outsourcing was motivated by corporate greed while Gloria’s bid was a desperate attempt to escape looming imprisonment.

“Indeed, the country’s justice system is more ill than the ailing Gloria,” concluded Magtubo.

Comelec ruled on ‘intent of the Arroyos’ not on ‘intent of the law’–labor group

PRESS RELEASE
21 July 2010

The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) lambasted the Comelec for consistently erring on very important questions on party-list representations.

According to PM chair Renato Magtubo, the Comelec is making contempt of its own not only by making self-contradictory rulings but also on making itself highly vulnerable to suspicions that sans propriety, these rulings are nothing but political trade off if not an outright fiscal transaction.

“Had Kasangga party-list still had Lourdes Arroyo in its list of nominees, the Comelec could have granted it the same privilege as that of Ang Galing Pinoy whose nominee is the former presidential son, Mikey Arroyo,” explained Magtubo.

The labor group said it was obviously the “intent of the Arroyos” and other favoured groups and not the “intent of the party-list law” that were considered by the Comelec in issuing this shameful ruling.

“When Lourdes Arroyo said she wanted to represent the small vendors in the 14th Congress the Comelec said she can. And when Mikey said he wanted to become security guards’ party-list nominee in the 15th Congress the Comelec said he can. They wished and the Comelec understood it as their command,” protested Magtubo.

He said Comelec’s favourable ruling on Mikey Arroyo is totally bereft of wisdom and perhaps deliberately planned to sow more confusion in the party-list system, undermine its real purpose, to give credence to those who call for its abolition.

Guarding against impostors

Upon hearing the news of Mikey getting the nod of Comelec, a group of security guards wanted Mikey Arroyo’s proclamation challenged not only in court but also in public debates.

Pilo Rosete, a licensed security guard with more than 15 years of work experience in the field, said, “An impostor can sit well with representatives of employers and landlords in Congress but not with underpaid, unsecured security guards.”

Omar Pescadera, another security guard, said Mikey has never experienced the grueling 12-hour shifts that we normally do and surviving on minimum wages. “Our work as security guards usually involve protecting property from being stolen by thieves thus we also do not want our voice to be robbed by frauds,” he said. Pescadera lives in Dasmarinas, Cavite and has four years of work experience with his last year working as a guard in Cavite although he has recently been unemployed.

Supreme Court refuge

The Partido ng Manggagawa is planning to go to the Supreme Court to seek relief not only on the qualifications of a party-list nominee but also on the disqualification of several party-list groups. The group is now preparing a motion for intervention on the case filed earlier by another party-list group seeking the disqualification of more than a hundred party-list groups that do not represent marginalized sectors.

“We believe that the question on nominees has so much to do with the nature of the party they represent. If a nominee is an impostor, the party is most likely a sham,” concluded Magtubo.

Labor party-list dares Mikey Arroyo to face security guards in forum

Press Release
April 12, 2010

The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) dared Rep. Mikey Arroyo who is running as a party-list nominee to attend the forum being organized by a group of security guards. “Since Mikey claims to be the party-list representative of security guards, there is no reason for him not to face his alleged constituents, present his electoral platform and defend his track record, of which we have not heard of yet,” asserted Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

A group of security guards led by Pilo Rosete, a licensed guard with more than 15 years of experience, announced yesterday that they plan to invite Arroyo to participate in a forum they are organizing. Rosete said that security guards want to hear Arroyo’s position on the concerns and grievances of their sector. He also declared that they will invite Magtubo and ex-General Danny Lim to the forum so they can faceoff with Arroyo on various issues of interest to security guards.

Magtubo confirmed that he will attend the security guards forum. He added that “It would be interesting to debate with Mikey about his allegations that he is the voice of the security guards as a marginalized group. If Mikey does not honor the invitation of the security guards then it can only because he does wish to be exposed as a fake.”

Rosete stated that they were surprised by the existence of Arroyo’s party-list group of security guards and they were ignorant of the latter’s qualifications as a nominee. “The forum will be an opportunity for my fellow security guards to ask questions of Mikey Arroyo. We will ask him about his stance on the long hours of work, the low wages and the lack of security of tenure of many security guards. We want to hear what laws he will enact to protect the rights and welfare of security guards. We wish to know if he will push for the organizing of security guards into associations so we can defend our economic and social interests,” Rosete clarified.

Magtubo insisted that security guards are a sub-sector of the working class and that “PM has acted as the political party of workers, including security guards, inside Congress and the parliament of the streets. PM’s platform of ‘Apat na Dapat’ responds to the most important grievances of security guards. The ‘Apat na Dapat’ means regular jobs, a living wage, affordable housing and healthcare coverage for all workers, which incidentally are also the demands of security guards.”

Security guards challenge Mikey Arroyo on platform and track record

Press Release
April 11, 2010

A group of security guards is planning to invite Rep. Mikey Arroyo to a forum and are challenging him to present his electoral platform and track record. Pilo Rosete, a licensed security guard with more than 15 years of work experience in the field, said that “We wish to hear what Mikey Arroyo can say as a supposed advocate of security guards. And we want him to face-off with Renato Magtubo of Partido ng Manggagawa and ex-General Danny Lim who we know have both an electoral platform and track record of advocacy for security guards.”

Meanwhile Magtubo, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chairperson, accepted the proposal to meet Arroyo in a forum to be organized by security guards. “We accept the challenge to a debate with Mikey. The security guards as a subsector of the working class with their own workplace grievances surely deserve to have representatives in Congress who share their concerns and not impostors just out to use them.”

Rosete explained that they are already organizing the security guards forum although they have not firmed up details such as date and venue. He asked for the help of the media in informing Arroyo of the forum but they plan to send a formal invitation once the details of the forum are finalized. They have already sent feelers to Magtubo and Lim about the planned forum.

He said that security guards are very much concerned about the issue of Arroyo’s party-list bid as a supposed representative of their sector. “We know that Mikey has never experienced the grueling 12-hour shifts that we normally do and surviving on minimum wages. We have also learned that he did not file any document proving a track record of advocacy for security guards. Moreover no security guard I have met has any knowledge of Mikey’s group Ang Galing Pinoy. Our work as security guards usually involve protecting property from being stolen by thieves thus we also do not want our voice to be robbed by frauds.”

Rosete also clarified that the organizing committee for the forum is not a formal group but just an adhoc caucus of employed security guards and some recently laidoff. He elaborated that the freedom to organize is actually one of the major issues of security guards since many attempts to unionize guards in order to protect their rights and welfare have met fierce opposition from security agencies.

“Our group remains an adhoc caucus but our vision is to form an association of security guards for mutual aid and protection. Many of the owners of security agencies are former generals and officers in the armed forces with connections among influential people thus it is easy enough to intimate union organizers. Probably Mikey’s only tenuous connection with security guards is his friendship with our employers, owners of security agencies, who are in no way a marginalized sector,” Rosete argued.

Labor party-list asks Mikey to follow his aunt, withdraw as party-list nominee

Press Release
March 30, 2010

The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) is asking Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo to follow the lead of his aunt Kasangga Rep. Malou Arroyo-Lesaca who announced her withdrawal as a party-list nominee. “Ang ginagawa ng matatanda dapat gayahin ng mga bata. The decent nephew follows the good example of an aunt. So we dare Mikey to do a Malou and pull-out as a party-list nominee,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

He added that “It is an honorable option for assailed party-list nominees to pull-out from the elections rather than be shamed as fakes and face disqualification. A party-list of security guards is bogus if its first nominee is a presidential son who also happens to be an incumbent congressman. A party-list of transport workers is a sham if its first nominee is an ex-general who also happens to be cabinet secretary.”

PM together with several other party-list groups are preparing to file disqualification cases against certain nominees. “The party-list system is stricken with a virus and it must be cleansed. It is the vigilance of genuine groups and the concerned public that will heal the disease,” argued Magtubo.

PM also declared that they will push in the next Congress for an amendment to the Party-List Act to plug the loopholes that have led to alleged abuses. The labor group is consulting with other party-list organizations on a common agenda of defending the party-list system as means for representation for marginalized sectors.

The group submitted its list of five nominees to the Comelec main office last March 24, a day after the end of PM’s congress that elected its nominees from more than a hundred delegates. “In compliance with the letter and spirit of the party-list law, PM’s five nominees truly represent the working class. They include three union officers with decades of experience as unionists and two former student activists who have spent their adult lives serving the struggles of the workers and the poor,” Magtubo explained.

He stated that “Besides GMA’s not-so-hidden agenda of packing the House of Representatives with her relatives or former cabinet secretaries in order to get elected as House Speaker, the party-list is also being abused as a back-door entry for trapos who find it cheaper spending P20 to 30 million compared to the P50 million or more in traditional congressional races.”

In order, the five PM nominees are:
1. Renato Magtubo: former president of the Fortune Tobacco Labor Union
2. Gerardo Rivera: recently elected president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association
3. Judy Ann Miranda: former UP student council officer who went full time as working class organizer
4. Wilson Fortaleza: former student activist who also went full time as working class organizer
5. Ma. Luisa Parroco: vice president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative employees union.