Reforms along with impeachment—Partido Manggagawa

The House of Representatives, by an overwhelming vote of 255, has impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. For the second time, the Senate is obligated to convene as an impeachment court and place the impeached official on trial. Walang lusot dito—sino mang liderato man ang maupo sa Senado.

But if the recent Senate coup was engineered precisely to delay or derail this process, including shielding political allies from accountability such as the ICC issue, then it only exposes a deeper institutional crisis. Lalabas na hindi lamang si Sara Duterte ang dapat sumailalim sa paglilitis—kailangan din ng Senado na maglinis ng sarili. An institution that evades accountability loses the moral authority to judge others.

The same challenge applies to the House of Representatives. Hindi dapat matapos sa impeachment ang usapin ng pananagutan. Kung seryoso ang Kamara sa “self-cleansing,” kailangan nitong ipasa ang Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, ang mga nakabinbing P200 wage hike bill, at ang abolition of provincial wage rates na matagal nang nagpapahirap sa manggagawa. At marami pang ibang mahalagang social legislation.

Sayang ang impeachment kung hindi matutuloy at kung walang kasabay na reporma.

Accountability without structural change risks becoming mere spectacle.

Ang tunay na paglilinis ng gobyerno ay hindi lang pagpapanagot sa indibidwal na opisyal kundi pagwawasto din sa mga problemang istruktural katulad ng dinastiya, katiwalian, at anti-poor policies.

MEDIA STATEMENT

Partido Manggagawa

Beyond change of guards in Congress: The country needs deeper governance and political reforms

 

Even if today’s lawmakers—including Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez - and more from the list of implicated persons in DPWH’s flood control project scam — step down from their posts, their lives will remain secured by wealth, privilege, and political networks. In sharp contrast, millions of Filipino workers continue to live struggling under low wages, contractual employment, poor public services, and weak social protections.

 

“This glaring divide shows why cosmetic changes in leadership, even at the highest levels, are not enough,” said Partido Manggagawa Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

“Beyond sending incorrigible crooks in government to jail, the country needs deeper governance and political reforms that dismantle elite domination and put the real majority - workers, farmers, and ordinary citizens at the center of decision-making,” he added.

 

Among the reforms urgently needed are:

               •             An anti-dynasty law and campaign finance reform to break the stranglehold of political families and corporate capture;

               •             Stronger labor rights to ensure living wages, job security, full employment, and the right to organize;

               •             Transparent and accountable governance to stop corruption and misuse of public funds;

               •             Inclusive policy-making mechanisms that amplify the voices of workers and other marginalized groups;

               •             Progressive taxation, including wealth tax, to fund universal social protection, and sustainable jobs.

 

“These reforms are not just about changing politicians,” the group added. “They are about changing the system so that public service means serving the people, not protecting elite interests.”

 

PM is joining the Simbahan at Komunidad Laban sa Katiwalian for the Trillion Peso March on September 21 at the People Power Monument. ###

A dynasty-filled Senate is anti-impeachment

Dismissing Sara Duterte’s impeachment case in plain view was just like re-electing Chiz Escudero. The alignment was the same. The numbers and faces who rejected the motion to keep the impeachment process alive in the Senate are the same mix of people representing political dynasties. Their votes, therefore, have nothing to do with the “rule of law” nor the representation of their “independence” as co-equal.

 

Yesterday, the Senate majority just did what Escudero wanted them to do since the 19th Congress – kill the impeachment.  Yet, it is harder to think that it was Sara Duterte who’s managing Chiz or she’s in virtual control of the Senate. That’s surely beyond her power and competence.

 

So why did the Senate majority unanimously reject a very simple “PAKIUSAP” by the minority to wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court on the motion for reconsideration? They could have simply suspended deliberations rather than put into the archive an impeachment complaint, which they also believed was non-existent.

 

There can only be one explanation for this, which we believe was driving the new Senate under Escudero. This was brilliantly explained by Cayetano’s “talunin nyo na lang si Sara sa 2028” remark, coupled with other innuendos about the possibility of endless impeachment complaints flooding the Senate in the future because of corruption. That sharp presentation in support of making the impeachment process more difficult has truly assumed consensus among dynasties in the Senate. Dynasties have their own political plans beyond the Senate, and impeachment is the least political process that they will support.

 

Clearly, the Senate they are shaping today is anti-impeachment. In other words, their votes yesterday were not just for Sara but also for themselves. Their defense of Sara is their flood control to prevent the arm of justice and accountability reaching their own dynasty walls. 

Reporma Lagpas kay Sara! Legislated Wage Hike, Now Na!

PAHAYAG

Partido Manggagawa

June 10, 2024

Tama, pero kapos. Tuloy, pero bitin. Ganito namin inilalarawan sa PM ang mga kaganapan ngayon, sa dalawang huling nalalabing araw ng sesyon ng Kongreso.

Salamat naman at si SP Chiz Escudero ay nahimasmasan, tumiklop sa kahihiyan kahit na hanggang sa dulo ay kimkim ang sama ng loob sa pagkatalo ng kanyang posisyon. Dahil sa kanyang paliwanag, kahit na may salitang “forthwith” na dapat sundin, ang impeachment trial ay hindi dapat minamadali. Ibig sabihin, pwedeng mabagal, pwedeng dahan-dahan. O pwedeng hindi na lang.

Teka-teka ang tawag sa ganitong pulitika. Ganito ang pulitika na hindi nakatuntong sa matibay na panininindigan para sa tama at mali, sa nararapat at hindi. Ganito ang makasariling pulitika, ang timbangan ay nakasentro sa sarili o kaya ay sa dynasty. Ngunita lam natin na hindi solo ni Chiz ang ganitong pulitika.

Makikita natin ang marami sa kanila sa proseso mismo ng impeachment, kapag nagsimula na ang trial. May inisyal nang palatandaan. Kagabi ay siyam lamang ang bumoto pabor sa “proceed”, anim ang tumutol, at walo ang nyutral. Neutral? May ganun? Magbabago ang komposisyon ng Senado sa 20th Congress kaya’t magkakaroon pa ng rigodon.

Subalit kung nababagalan ang marami sa takbo ng impeachment, ano pa sa tinatakbo ng legislated wage hike? February last year pa naipasa ng Senado ang P100 increase, pero sa Kamara nito lamang nakaraang linggo naipasa ang P200. Para mapabilis ay dapat nag-usap na ang bicameral panel para dito, pero wala pa. Dahil dito ay mamimiligrong hindi ito maipasa.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit hinihimok din namin mga ang mga mambabatas na manumpa, hindi lamang bilang mga justice at prosecutor sa impeachment court, kundi para maipasa ang legislated wage hike na nakabinbin ngayon sa Kongreso.

Nakapanumpa na si SP Chiz Escudero bilang presiding justice at maaring ngayon o bukas ay manumpa na rin ang lahat ng senador.  Subalit ang wage hike ay wala pang naitatalagang conferees ang Senado para sa Bicam. May mga pahayag din mula sa ilang Senador na bubusisiin pa nila ng husto ang naipasa nilang panukala, bagay na lalong magpapabagal o ganap na pumigil sa pagpasa nito. 

Matatagalan ang nabuksang paglilitis sa impeachment dahil tatawid pa ito sa 20th Congress, samantalang ang wage hike bill na P100-P200 ay naghihingalo sa antas ng bicam at nanganganib pang di makarating sa Palasyo para maging batas. Nanunulay din ito sa presyur ng capitalist veto dahil sa pagtutol ng mga negosyante at economic managers ni Bongbong Marcos. 

Naniniwala kami na may magagawa pa ang Kongreso kung magkakaisa lamamg ang dalawang Kapulungan na maipasa ang wage hike bill kahit nasa last two minutes na tayo ng labanan. Kung hindi ito magagawa, ito ay pagtalikod sa kanilang tungkulin at pagyuko sa capitalist lobby laban sa manggagawa.

Ang ganitong kabiguan ay lalo lamang magpapatibay at magpapatunay sa aming paniniwala na kapos ang impeachment ni Sara kung walang kaakibat na mga reporma, katulad sa mga naunang impeachment.  

Naninindigan kami na ang reporma ay dapat lagpas sa impeachment ni Sara, at ang pagtugon sa kahilingan ng mga manggagawa na baguhin ang maling patakaran na naglibing sa sweldo sa starvation at poverty level ay mas malaking inhustisya na dapat ituwid ng mga mambabatas. 

Reporma Lagpas kay Sara! Legislated Wage Hike, Now Na!

Maraming salamat!

Take Your Vow for a Wage Hike Too

We, the workers, also urge lawmakers to take an oath—not just as judges and prosecutors in the impeachment court—but to pass the long-pending legislated wage hike currently stalled in Congress. 

 

Earlier, Senate President Chiz Escudero took his oath as presiding judge, and today or tomorrow, senators may don their judicial robes to swear into their roles. 

 

However, the wage hike bill still lacks Senate conferees for the Bicameral Conference Committee. Some senators have even stated that they will thoroughly review the proposal they had already approved, which could stall its passage in the remaining two days. 

 

The impeachment trial that has begun will drag on into the 20th Congress, while the P100-P200 wage hike bill languishes in the bicameral stage, at risk of never reaching Malacañang to become law. 

 

The wage hike bill also faces intense pressure of a capitalist veto due to opposition from business groups and Bongbong Marcos’ economic managers. 

 

We believe Congress still has the persuasive power to pass this bill—even in the last two minutes of the session—if both chambers unite. 

 

Failure to do so would be a betrayal of duty and a surrender to the capitalist lobby against workers. 

 

This failure would only reinforce our belief that Sara’s impeachment alone is insufficient without accompanying reforms, as seen in past impeachments. 

 

Reform must go beyond Sara’s impeachment. Addressing workers’ demands to reverse policies that keep wages at starvation and poverty levels is a far greater injustice that lawmakers need to rectify.