The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that only the
logo has changed as President Bong Bong Marcos is set to deliver his second
State of the Nation today. “Walang bago sa Pilipinas. Logo lang ang nagbago.
All the social problems—poverty, inequality, low wages, high prices,
unemployment and insecure jobs—remain unresolved and without any clear solutions
under this administration,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and Marikina
city councilor.
Hundreds of PM members will join other workers organizations under the
Nagkaisa labor coalition in assembling around 9:00 am today at Philcoa. By
11:00 am, the group will merge with more labor groups and other civil society
organizations along Commonwealth Avenue and in front of the Commission on Human
Rights. They will march to Tandang Sora where the People’s SONA will have a
program from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.
In Cebu City, PM along with groups SENTRO and Akbayan will
assemble in Plaza Independencia at 8:00 am today. Then they will march onto the
Cebu City Freedom Park and finally merge with other organizations for the main
program in Metro Colon. In Iloilo, PM is joining other workers organizations
for the counter-SONA rally today under the coalition United Labor.
Magtubo cited the loss of more than 4,000 jobs as two big garment factories are shutting down in the Mactan Export Processing Zone as an example of the failures of the Marcos Jr. administration, along with the price of rice that remains double the promised P20 per kilo. He insisted that “Dahil walang trabahong regular and walang murang bigas, bigo ang Pilipinas sa pamumuno ni BBM.”
July 24, 2023
