“Nakakahiya na talaga kayo!” – Workers cry foul on killed wage hike and planned dismissal of impeachment

 

The Senate of the 19th Congress has simultaneously stalled action on both the proposed wage hike and the impeachment case. Sen. Escudero effectively killed the wage hike measure, while the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte is also poised to be dismissed today.

 

At a protest in front of the Senate this morning led by Tindig Pilipinas, Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Kalipunan, and Siklab, members of Partido Manggagawa (PM), raised their voices against the Senate inaction: “No impeachment, no wage hike? Nakakahiya na talaga kayo!”

 

“Impeach! Huwag Puro Insert sa National Budget,” a PM poster displayed, referring to reported billions of insertions to the 2025 budget allegedly orchestrated by Escudero.

 

The Senate plans to vote on whether to dismiss or not the impeachment complaint following the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the House’s impeachment process unconstitutional. But the House of Representatives filed a motion for reconsideration before the high tribunal, while several civil society organizations and former Justices also filed separate petitions for intervention and asking the Court to declare a status quo ante and the holding or oral arguments.

 

An outright dismissal is totally deplorable, according to PM Secretary General Judy Miranda, since a bad Senate decision will have deep repercussions for other equally important measures on accountability and social justice.

 

The proposed wage hike and anti-endo bills have once again been refiled in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

 

“Workers fight for their passage alongside the impeachment case, as both good governance and raising the living standards of Filipinos are constitutional duties of lawmakers,” Miranda said. 

Photos can be accessed at the FB page: Partido Manggagawa 

Impeaching Sara is still the right thing to do!

 

Photo by Inquirer.net

Justice Leonen said, “there is a right way to do the right thing at the right time.” Tama siya – but let’s be clear: impeaching Sara Duterte remains the right thing to do.

 

But if the so-called “right time” is being used to delay justice, then that is wrong. Justice must not be strangled by technicalities.

 

Meanwhile, citizens must continue to hold all government officials accountable in all aspects. Isa ito sa batayan nang sinasabi namin na reporma lagpas sa impeachment ni Sara. The call for deep political and institutional reforms does not end with Sara Duterte.

 

Accountability should not depend on titles or positions; it must apply to all public servants. We urge the people to assert this principle and ensure that those in power are never above the law.

 

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the standard applied in the recent Supreme Court decision.

TRO on Philhealth fund transfer is a victory for workers

Nagkaisa welcomes the Supreme Court’s issuance today of a TRO against the transfer of the ₱89.9B Philhealth fund to the National Treasury.

 

As recognized intervenor for this case, leaders of the Nagkaisa labor coalition look forward to the more substantive discussions during the oral argumentation on the many issues surrounding the Palace’s action to transfer the fund, while members are denied extensive health coverage despite the availability of billions of unutilized funds.

 

We firmly believe that the transfer was both legally and morally flawed, thus we will continue to press on with the fight to protect the fund and to ensure that decisions are made with full knowledge and participation of Philhealth members, majority of whom are workers in the formal and informal sectors. 

PRESS STATEMENT

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition

29 October 2024

 

Quo warranto vs Sereno was a political coup

The decision of the Supreme Court to remove Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno can never be considered as a triumph of justice. It’s purely a result of a political coup organized from both the outside and inside of the country’s deteriorating state of institutions.   

Sereno was clearly ousted not because of her missing SALNs but mainly because of her missing loyalty to the Chief Executive.  And while the quo warranto was effectively used only as a means to achieve the end of administratively ousting the Chief Justice, it’s the political side of it that’s more intimidating as far as the whole nation is concerned.  It’s not really the quo warranto proceedings, we believe, that has become a threat to the SC itself as an institution.  Rather, it’s the majority vote that is worth watching as this number has already become a political trend in itself.    

Is it the same majority that will ensure the victory of Bongbong Marcos before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal? Will the same majority vote in favor of ConAss to ensure the smooth sailing of the chacha train? Were they the same majority who voted to reverse the FASAP decision 20 years after? 

The recent decision on former CJ Sereno provides a preview of what’s going to be the next big things this ruling majority will do or undo in this increasingly becoming confused and supressed nation.

11 May 2018

Women workers demand implementation of RH Law

 

“Kababaihan ang nahihirapan habang hostage ng ibang grupo ang implementasyon ng RH law.”

 

Members of Partido Manggagawa (PM) expressed this frustration as they joined reproductive health advocates in asking the Supreme Court to lift its TRO on the implementation of RA 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

 

According to PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda, the TRO issued by the high tribunal did uphold the constitutionality of the RH law but purchase and distribution of RH supplies and were withheld prior to the formulation of new rules in granting certification to certain contraceptives.

 

“We respect the granting of due process to the petitioners but it can also be argued that the RH Law can be implemented beyond the specific supplies being objected to since there were already approved safe contraceptives available in the market prior to the enactment of the RH Law.  In other words, access to safe contraceptives can readily be made available in all RH facilities nationwide,” said Miranda.

 

Miranda said a big part of RH Law can be implemented while contested supplies are being subjected to certification and recertification by concerned agencies.

 

She added that the previous and present administration were supportive of RH Law and therefore implementation of this measure, whether in part or in whole, should not be a problem for the executive.

 

“We therefore pray to our justices that the RH Law will be given its day as soon as possible for the interest of our women, especially the for women workers,” concluded Miranda.

October 10, 2016

Bacoor urban poor rally against demolition threat

Press Release

April 8, 2015

Some 100 members of four urban poor groups based in Brgy. Longos, Bacoor, Cavite held a protest rally yesterday against the threat of demolitions due to private and public projects in their communities. The militant Partido Manggagawa is supporting the urban poor fight for decent housing and livelihood.

Tonette Fajanilan, an urban poor leader and a Partido Manggagawa coordinator in Bacoor, said that “Inclusive growth should mean the right to affordable housing and the provision of social cost into the project cost of public development plans. We hope for a negotiated settlement to the threat of demolition so that there is no mis-encounter moreso a bloody war. We do not oppose social progress but we demand that social justice be integral to development.”

The urban poor marched from a nearby assembly point to the Bacoor municipal trial court (MTC). They picketed while an MTC hearing was held on the eviction case against 23 families living in a lot claimed by a brother of Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla. The lot is near the proposed LRT depot and station in Bacoor.

The 23 families in the rally were joined by other Bacoor residents who are affected by the LRT project and the clean up of the Manila Bay that was ordered by the Supreme Court in a writ of mandamus. The Supreme Court on December 18, 2008, issued a writ of continuing mandamus directing 13 government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate and eventually preserve Manila Bay within 10 years. Meanwhile the LRT extension line from Baclaran, Paranaque to Bacoor, Cavite has been awarded to an Ayala consortium.

“This is not just a fight for housing but also for livelihood. In our communities, we have not just built our simple homes but also our informal jobs. The problem of informal settlers is intertwined with the question of lack of jobs,” explained Fajanilan.

She added that “Our appeal for affordable housing and decent jobs is not much specially in comparison to the multibillion costs of development projects like the LRT extension and Manila Bay cleanup. We believe our fight is in line with the challenge of Pope Francis to reform the structures that perpetuate poverty and exclusion of the poor.”

Personal grudge nor personal ambition can’t justify term extension – labor group

PRESS RELEASE

14 August 2014

Seeking a prohibited term extension out of personal bitterness against the Supreme Court would be erroneous if not a fatal political move for the sitting President, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement. 

President Aquino the other day made it categorical that he is considering a second term via a constitutional amendment, purportedly to check on the powers of the Supreme Court which he claimed exercise restraint “more often” against the co-equal branches of the government.

The group likewise disclosed, based on reliable sources, that a broad movement aligned to the cause of extending the “tuwid na daan” will be launched soon to create an artificial clamor for continuing reforms and at the opportune moment PNoy will make a major announcement that he has listened to his “bosses” to finally seek a term extension.

This is the nth time PNoy vented his outburst against the Supreme Court after the latter declared his Disbursement Accelelartion Program (DAP) unconstitutional. 

But for PM, pushing a personal political agenda out of personal grudge against the justices won’t justify a still non apparent social objective of reforming the entire political system.  

“We, too, do not believe that the ‘Lords of Faura’ holds the paragon of righteousness in this country.  They are dressed in robes, as crook lawmakers are also clad in barongs, to cover their sins and partiality to the ruling class. Yet cleansing the whole system does not necessarily require having a second term. This is more the task of a revolutionary government, a power that his mother failed to exercise correctly in 1986,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

Magtubo said workers have always been victims of delayed justice and unjust court rulings.  And similarly the two other branches of government consciously take the side of the capitalist class. 

“This situation did not change under PNoy’s term.  For the past four years wala pang naitutuwid, wala pang naitatawid,” declared the group.

PM said workers have more bad things to say about the country’s rotten political and economic system.  But they will neither look at the term extension nor the plan to amend the Constitution based on personal desires of few persons and big corporations as a sound option,” said Magtubo.

RH Law is a partial win for Filipino women

Press Statement

April 9, 2014

Despite declaring eight (8) provisions illegal, the Supreme Court’s upholding of the RH Law as constitutional is hard won victory for the Filipino people, especially for poor women.  The salient provisions that will provide the marginalized free reproductive health services and supplies, adolescents age and development appropriate reproductive health education in schools, and public awareness and nationwide campaign for reproductive health and rights have remained intact.  So goes with the role of local government units in the RH Law’s implementation.

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), however, cannot disregard the importance of the provisions declared unconstitutional by the high court.  The ruling has direct impact to the availment of services of minors and women of reproductive health services and supplies. Minor parents or minors who have suffered a miscarriage and married women not in emergency situations are not allowed to access RH services and supplies without consent of parents and spouses, respectively.  These negate women’s right to make decisions for their selves.

The SC has also considered illegal the punishment of a health care provider who fails or refuses to disseminate information regarding RH services, refer a patient not in an emergency or life-threatening case to another health care service provider, and public officer who refuses to support reproductive health programs or do any act that hinders the full implementation of a reproductive health program regardless of his or her religious beliefs.  The ruling undermines the rights of women to avail of RH information and services from those who are supposed to be implementing the law.

The provisions that were sacrificed are equally important.  PM believes the Supreme Court gave in to the pressure of the Catholic Church and other religious groups and made compromises at the expense of women’s rights and health.  The fight for reproductive health is not yet over.

Militant labor group urges Supreme Court to uphold RH Law

PRESS RELEASE
28 March 2014

Women workers from Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined women from different sectors - government officials, civil society partners, young people, and celebrity supporters - in the march to urge the Supreme Court Justices to uphold the Reproductive Health Law.

The march will start at Anda Circle at 2pm, pass by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ office in Intramuros, and proceed to the Supreme Court in Padre Faura, and hold a program at Plaza Salamanca, Taft Avenue. Attendees will march in purple shirts and accessories.

“More pregnant women are dying with the delay in the implementation of the RH Law.  Teen pregnancies are increasing and girls getting pregnant are younger and younger with the delay in the implementation of the RH Law.  HIV/AIDS rates are likewise increasing, young men and women are denied of necessary services with the delay in the implementation of the RH Law,” claimed PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda.

PM also noted that a Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) study (Labstat Vol. 17, No. 8, May 2013) showed that most of the women inactive in the labor force are 20-39 year-olds, poor, and either elementary or high school levels/graduates.  They are inactive because besides spending most of their time in childrearing and domestic work, they are also those women with the most number of children born in fairly close succession.

Hence, these women are poor because right from the beginning, they have been denied by the government, with the Catholic Church’s influence, their right to reproductive health. 

“Too many lives and futures have been sacrificed.  We urge the Supreme Court to end the silent carnage and uphold the RH Law,” Miranda ended.

Advisory: Workers picket @ SC re Meralco rate hike

Media Advisory

20 January 2014

Contact: Wilson Fortaleza

09178233956

REQUEST FOR COVERAGE

PICKET @ SUPREME COURT

20 January 2014

10:00 AM

Day before SC hears oral arguments on Meralco rate hike

PALEA says FASAP is victim of Lucio Tan’s corruption; Bishop Pabillo mass will be highlight of protest tomorrow

Press Release

October 11, 2011

PALEA

In the wake of the recall by the Supreme Court of its supposed final ruling on the illegal dismissal case of 1,400 flight attendants, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) expressed its support for the fight of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP). “Like PALEA, FASAP is also a victim of Lucio Tan’s greed and corruption. We call on all workers, especially contractuals, and Filipinos opposed to contractualization to come to the big protest for social justice and change,” declared Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo is celebrating a mass which will be the highlight of tomorrow’s rally that will last from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at PALEA’s protest camp along

MIA Road

. “PALEA and FASAP are concrete examples of how workers everywhere are losing jobs because of corporate greed and government corruption. The workers and the poor are the 99% of this country whose voices must be heard and whose grievances must be redressed,” asserted Renato Magtubo, PM national chair.

Rivera insisted that “We say to the Supreme Court: justice utterly delayed is justice absolutely denied. The protracted legal fight of FASAP for the 1,400 cabin crew is the reason we ask that the outsourcing of 2,600 ground employees be halted pending final decision by the courts. We do not want PALEA members and their families to suffer while waiting 13 years for a final Supreme Court decision which later upholds the illegality of the outsourcing plan.”

PALEA also lambasted PAL for its “wild allegation” that its members are harassing the scabs working for the flag carrier. “PAL is setting up the scenario for the police to dismantle the protest camp as a sequel to the forcible dispersal of protesting PALEA members last September 27. PAL’s scabs are being nagged by their guilty consciences but no one has been harassed. We are appealing to their sense of solidarity: ipinaglaban kayo ng PALEA noon, manindigan kayo para sa PALEA ngayon. Think of the safety of passengers for we know that you have been working overtime above eight hours a day for the last two weeks due to the shortage of skilled manpower,” Rivera explained.

He added that “Two weeks after the lockout and termination of 2,600 PAL employees, PALEA’s will to fight and win is not broken by the intransigence of management and collusion of government. Our fighting morale is sustained by the generous support from flight attendants, labor groups, church institutions and other sectors. Our will to win is inspired by the

Occupy Wall Street movement, the struggles by airline workers in Australia and the general strikes in Europe.”

PALEA marks 65th anniversary with vow to defeat PAL’s union busting scheme

Press Release

September 21, 2011

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) marked its 65^th anniversary today with a mass and a program at the Our Lady of the Airways Parish near Terminal 2 of the Manila International Airport. “As PALEA celebrates its founding, we make a vow to defeat the union busting scheme of Philippine Airlines that is masquerading as an outsourcing plan. PALEA intends to have many more birthdays to come and to serve PAL employees and the Filipino workers to a ripe old age,” stated Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa.

PALEA is arguably the oldest existing labor union in the country. A group of about 50 ground technical/mechanics employees based in then Nichols Field founded PALEA on September 21, 1946. This is not the first time that PALEA has faced the challenge of mass layoff. Way back in 1954, many PALEA members were laid off due to the suspension of international flights and this led to hardship to their families.

Most recently in June 1998, some 1,800 PALEA members and 1,400 flight attendants were dismissed. This provoked the PALEA strike of 1998 and the protracted legal battle by the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) against illegal termination.

PALEA hailed the Supreme Court (SC) decision that ruled with finality that the 1998 termination of flight crew as illegal and ordered their reinstatement. “This is the reason we insist that the Office of the President (OP) decision on the outsourcing plan is not executory pending final judicial resolution. We call on PAL to learn the lessons of the FASAP case and stop the outsourcing plan before it’s too late. But if PAL will be intransigent in locking out workers come October 1 then we will be forced to defy and resist,” Rivera explained.

He added that “We cannot allow PAL to lockout 2,600 workers, wait for 13 years for the courts final determination that outsourcing is illegal and let our families and children suffer the misery of our loss of jobs and contractual employment. Justice delayed is justice denied. We ask for the understanding of the public for any inconvenience that our protest against lockout will entail.”

PALEA has a pending petition at the Court of Appeals (CA) against the OP decision on the outsourcing plan. Rivera noted that among the issues resolved by the SC in the FASAP case was that retrenchment is valid only if alleged business losses are substantial, serious and actual, which PAL failed to prove for the case of the flight crew.

He elaborated that “The flight attendants were dismissed in 1998 at a time when PAL was obviously facing loss losses but the courts nonetheless saw that the financial difficulties were not serious enough to merit mass layoff. Thus we believe that both the CA and SC will both rule against PAL’s outsourcing plan. Like the FASAP case, PAL argued for the outsourcing plan on supposed losses which has been disproved by the company’s own financial statements proving the flag carrier is highly profitable.”

PALEA: SC final decision on FASAP case bolsters petition vs. outsourcing

Press Release

September 20, 2011

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) asserted today that the Supreme Court’s (SC) final decision in favor of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association’s (FASAP) on the illegal retrenchment case bolsters its position against the outsourcing plan of Philippine Airlines (PAL). “After 13 long years, the SC ruled with finality that PAL is guilty of illegal dismissing 1,400 flight crew at the height of the flag carrier’s financial troubles. Today with PAL awash in PhP 5 billion in income, the courts will clearly decide against the legality of terminating 2,600 ground crew if the judicial process is given due course,” declared Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

PALEA congratulated FASAP in its hard won victory. “We salute our brothers and sisters in FASAP for the justice they have achieved after a protracted legal battle. This is the reason we argue that the ruling of the Office of the President on the outsourcing plan is not yet final and executory pending final judicial resolution of the case,” Rivera clarified.

PALEA members continued its protests against the layoff and contractualization by participating in the joint labor rally this afternoon at Mendiola. The groups Church-Labor Conference, Koalisyon Kontra Kontraktwalisasyon and PM held the rally on eve of the anniversary of martial law to denounce government policies that suppress labor rights.

“It is as if martial law has not been lifted for the labor movement. The workers of PAL, Hanjin shipyard and Dusit Hotel are living examples of martial law in the labor front,” Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, argued. Tomorrow PALEA is celebrating its 65^th anniversary with a vow to “defeat PAL’s union busting scheme masquerading as an outsourcing plan.”

The SC second division in a ruling dated September 7, 2011 dismissed PAL’s second motion for reconsideration and ordered PAL to reinstate 1,400 flight attendants with full backwages. PALEA noted that among the issues resolved by the SC was that retrenchment is valid only if alleged business losses are substantial, serious and actual, which PAL failed to prove for the case of the flight crew.

PALEA has a pending petition at the Court of Appeals (CA) against the OP decision on the outsourcing plan. “The flight attendants were dismissed in 1998 at a time when PAL was obviously facing loss losses but the courts nonetheless saw that the financial difficulties were not serious enough to merit mass layoff. Thus we believe that both the CA and SC will both rule against PAL’s outsourcing plan. Like the FASAP case, PAL argued for the outsourcing plan on supposed losses which has been disproved by the company’s own financial statements proving the flag carrier is highly profitable,” Rivera said.

Current labor policies worse than martial law – labor groups

PRESS RELEASE
20 September 2011
Organized labor groups under the Church Labor Conference (CLC) and the Koalisyon Laban sa Kontraktwalisasyon (Kontra) trooped to the historic Mendiola bridge on the eve of the country’s commemoration of its dark days under martial rule.
But more than keeping the fire of  the famous “Never Again” call, workers came to denounce the present government under P-Noy, for perpetuating  labor policies that are worse than martial law.
“During the time of Mr. Marcos, labor is not allowed to express itself freely because rights were suspended.  Today, these freedoms to express and organize ourselves into union, collectively bargain with our employers, and get involved in concerted actions , remain dead,” said Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chair and CLC co-chair Renato Magtubo. 
Magtubo explained that in fact by comparison, many unions have actually survived the dark days of martial law than under this era of globalization, citing the case of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) which by coincidence is  going to celebrate its 65th anniversary tomorrow.  PALEA was formed in September 21, 1946.
“But after tomorrow, PALEA will be pushed into the brink of extinction if Lucio Tan succeeds  in making the Philippine Airlines the flag carrier of P-Noy’s labor contractualization policy,”  added Magtubo.
Under PAL’s outsourcing plan, more than 2,600 members of PALEA, including 70% of its officers,  shall be terminated and rehired as contractuals by third party service providers.   In effect, the outsourcing plan is union-busting hiding under the guise of company restructuring as claimed by PALEA.
Magtubo stressed further that, “By freeing the employers’ unlimited exercise of management prerogative which was affirmed recently by P-Noy in the case of PAL,  workers have effectively lost all the rights to express and defend themselves since they can now be fired at will by their employers.  And this is worse than martial law.” Another example, Magtubo said,  is the case of Dusit Hotel workers who were fired at will by the management  after they cut off their hairs in a show of protest  against management policies.    Magtubo said the government did nothing to defend the rights of these workers.
The case of Hanjin workers  in Subic is another.  Some 21,000 workers in this giant shipyard work as contractuals.  They live in a very poor working conditions as manifested in many incidents of work-related deaths.  Yet the government lifts no finger in ending this gross violations of labor rights in the shipyard and in all  export zones (EPZAs) in the country.
“Labor is not happy with this situation.  Unfortunately,  the little space left where we can express ourselves is also becoming useless since like Marcos, nobody in Malacanang cares to listen or take the side of labor,” concluded Magtubo.
The groups said, however, that martial-law like represssion only strengthen the unity of labor and prepares them to embark on  collective struggles against common enemies such as the plague of contractualization and even for a political battle against a pro-capitalist government.

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.

Workers join multisectoral rally vs. “midnight Chief Justice”

Press Release
March 19, 2010

The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined the multisectoral outcry against the decision allowing the appointment of a “midnight Chief Justice.” Jane Bernardo, PM-Iligan leader stated that “A midnight Chief Justice beholden to Gloria Arroyo is arguably the worst legacy of the regime.”

In Manila scores of PM members joined the multisectoral march today from the corner of Kalaw and Taft Ave. to Faura and then on to Orosa St., going around the Supreme Court building in the area. They carried placards with the messages “Workers oppose a midnight Chief Justice” and “Resist Gloria Forever scenario.”

The labor party-list believes that the controversial Supreme Court decision on the appointment of a Chief Justice by President Arroyo paves the way for her control of the high court in a period where constitutional and legal disputes will likely arise. “One by one, the institutions of the state are falling like dominoes to Arroyo’s domination. We will wake up one day with Arroyo as Speaker of the House back to power as acting President,” Bernardo warned.

She lauded Justice Carpio-Morales for “having the balls to be the lone dissenter among a pack of conformist men.” Bernardo echoed the appeal of various groups and personalities for the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, “There is still time and opportunity for the high court to redeem itself and reverse its decision before the country falls into abyss of the perpetuation of Arroyo’s rule.”