Onward with Bonifacio’s Struggle for Freedom and “Kaginhawaan”

Bonifacio will always be relevant. At every juncture and for every generation, Bonifacio’s struggle for national independence and social justice will be reinterpreted by workers and the youth to understand the challenges of the situation.

 

Today, the Filipino people are caught between a new cold war between China and the US in the Pacific, and on a global scale between Western powers and rivals such as Russia and China. Filipino workers and youth must navigate a path of peace and independence from these geopolitical rivalries. Workers and the youth refuse to be the cannon fodder in the hot and cold wars of stronger countries.

 

Aside from the relevance of Bonifacio’s fight for independent development, his advocacy for social justice and “kaginhawaan” continues to ring true in the face of the consolidation of the authoritarian turn and growing inequality. The Philippines has one of the most unequal societies in Asia as revealed in a recent World Banks study. This inequality can only worsen as workers’ civil liberties and political rights are curtailed under a Marcos regime.

 

The struggle for freedom and “kaginhawaan” forms an integral whole as revealed in the current authoritarian regime of Marcos which has no program for workers. Thus, the advocacy for a labor agenda combining the demands for wages, jobs, rights and services intersects with the campaign to defend human rights and civil liberties.

 

We vow to pursue Bonifacio’s struggle under new conditions. Workers fight for wage hikes, secure jobs and labor rights to defend their living conditions. Further, workers resist the shrinking of the democratic space that denies them the ability to advance its advocacies for social justice and “kaginhawaan.”

Partido Manggagawa

30 November 2022

Noise barrage and candle light protest vs return of Marcos to power

 

The groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa (Kalipunan) which unites workers, farmers, women and students will lead a protest action this afternoon at 5:30 pm against the return of the Marcoses to power.

 

“EDSA’s epic fail is engendering a throwback to dictatorship. Since EDSA’s let-down is plain to see, memes of a Marcos golden age look like fact rather than fiction,” averred Judy Miranda, PM Secretary-General.

 

The highlight of the protest is a noise barrage and candle lighting at the People Power Monument. The riders’ group Kagulong will assemble at Mall of Asia then hold a “unity ride” to join Kalipunan.

 

“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 keep 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,” Miranda explained.

 

She added 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.”

 

“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 a 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,” Miranda concluded.

February 25, 2022

Advisory: Noise barrage and candle light protest tomorrow vs return of Marcos to power

 

Media Advisory

February 24, 2022

Partido Manggagawa

Contact Judy Miranda @ 09228677522

 

Noise barrage and candle light protest tomorrow vs return of Marcos to power

 

What: Protest against return to power of Marcoses

 

When: Tomorrow, Feb 25, 5:30 pm

 

Where: People Power Monument

 

Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa which unites workers, farmers, women and students will lead the protest action. The highlight of the protest is a noise barrage and candle lighting. The riders’ group Kagulong will assemble at Mall of Asia then hold a “unity ride” to the People Power Monument to join Kalipunan.

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. ###

Government’s deeds do not match words on human rights issues

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the government on its response to the European Union Parliament’s critique of inaction by the Philippines on human rights concerns.

 

“Deeds do not match words. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles are being disingenuous when they say that the administration is acting on the complaints. In reality, violations of human rights continue with impunity. The recent controversial arrest of Dr. Naty Castro is a case in point. Arrest, detention and red-tagging of critics and activists is on top of the thousands killed in the bloody drug war and the dozens of unionists murdered under the present dispensation,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

The group said that the EU Parliament is not the only international body taking the government to task. In its latest report, the International Labor Organization’s committee of experts on the committee of experts on the application of conventions and recommendations averred that speedy and effective probes of the killings of trade unionists and the conviction of perpetrators are lacking if not absent.

 

Magtubo added that “Just to cite one case, the murder of union organizer Dennis Sequeña remains unsolved to this day, almost three years after he was shot while facilitating a labor seminar for export zone workers in Cavite. It was the outrage over the killing of Dennis just days before the annual International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2019 that precipitated the current complaint against the Philippine government for systematic violations of Convention 87 and Convention 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining.”

 

 “Aside from Dennis, no justice has been served for the killings of PM leaders Orlando Abangan of Cebu, Rolando Pango and Victoriano Embang of Negros Occidental. As the ILO report has noted, the government keeps on repeating that investigations are happening without providing any details,” Magtubo insisted.

 

The group also stated that the government is dragging its feet on a review of the rules governing the conduct of security personnel during disputes and the scrapping of a program on peacekeeping in the export processing zones.

 

“The Philippine Economic Zone Authority in particular has been blocking progress on strengthening the freedom to unionize and the right to protest of workers in export processing zones. Their latest maneuver has been to change the name of the Joint Industrial Peace Concerns Office to Alliance for Industrial Peace and Program Office but the aim of militarizing ecozones by setting up police precincts and suppressing unionism remains in place,” Magtubo explained. 

February 22, 2022

Belittling new surge in COVID-19 is perpetuating ‘kapalpakan’ – labor group

President Duterte’s downplaying of the impact of the new surge in COVID-19 cases is unsettling rather than reassuring, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement Tuesday, as the rise in new cases of infection is happening in the face of vaccine shortage and persistent unemployment.

“Kung ang kalapit nating bansa ay nakaalpas na sa pandemya matapos ang isang taon, tapos tayo ay tumataas pa ang kaso, meron tayong problema: MALAKI, hindi maliit,” declared PM Chair Renato Magtubo on his social media post.

Magtubo, who is also a City Councilor of Marikina, said this is no time for leaders to understate a lingering problem especially if this leadership is facing a backlash over its mishandling of the crisis over the last twelve months.

The President’s statement came after the #DutertePalpak hashtag trended online on Monday, coinciding with the anniversary of the declaration of hard lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR).

It can also be recalled that when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic, Duterte even poked fun at the virus, saying it will die a natural death even without a vaccine.  He also introduced using gasoline for sanitizing facemasks.

“Mahirap nang bolahing muli ang mamamayan ngayon, lalo na ang milyong manggagawa na matapos ma-lockdown at mawalan ng trabaho noong nakaraang taon ay naka-lockout pa rin ngayon at nagtitiis sa gutom,” said Magtubo.

According to PM, aside from the 4.5 million jobless workers in 2020, many remain on a ’floating status’ after losing their jobs last year. And because they are out of work yet not being terminated, their status remains ‘employed but not at work’. The group said employers resort to floating their workers indefinitely to avoid paying them separation benefits.

Magtubo said the re-imposition of curfew, or worse, a new hard lockdown would discourage more workers to find new jobs or for businesses to resume full operations.

“So, hindi ito maliit na problema, Mr. President. Ang totoong nakita kasi ng manggagawa sa nakalipas na taon ay ang maliit ninyong solusyon,” concluded Magtubo.

PM, together with Nagkaisa labor coalition, have been pushing for balik-trabahong ligtas and the rollout of income and employment guarantees to address unemployment problems and enhance the capacity of the state on health and climate response.

16 March 2021

Labor demands tripartite investigation over raids and mass arrests in Bacolod

Photo from Kodao.org

The country’s biggest labor coalition, Nagkaisa!, is demanding a tripartite investigation over the simultaneous raids and mass arrests conducted by security forces Thursday night against members of militant labor and women groups in Bacolod City to protect workers’ right to self organization. 

“We won’t let this assault on freedom pass without demanding accountability from authorities who ordered these Gestapo-style raids. We also want to send notice to the government that labor organizations in the country are jointly opposed to this kind of highhanded approach in dealing with legitimate sectoral organizations,”said Nagkaisa! in a statement sent to media. 

Some 57 people were arrested during the simultaneous raids conducted by a joint military and police forces against the Kilusang Mayor Uno, National Federation of Sugar Workers and Gabriela offices in the cities of Bacolod and Escalante in Negros last Thursday night. Cases of illegal possession of firearms and explosives were filed against those who were arrested, a charge vehemently denied by said groups. 

Nagkaisa! is pointing out that while the raids and mass arrests were carried out by virtue of a search warrant issued in Quezon City, it believes that this legality is eclipsed by the repressive character attending it which is common only under authoritarian rule.

The least that could have been done by security forces, the group said is to coordinate with labor department under the spirit of the Guideline on the conduct of the DOLE, DILG, DND, DOJ, AFP and PNP relative to the exercise of Workers’ Right and Activity.

“We envisage further that there’s more to this than meets the eye. Its chilling effect was obvious as they happen at a time the democratic spaces in the country were shrinking fast, including, among others, the systematic repression of trade union rights and the employment of violence against trade union organizers. We therefore demand a stop to the institutionalization of these draconian measures,” stated Nagkaisa! 

Labor groups were deeply concerned that the labor department’s ineffective response against trade union killings and red-tagging has emboldened our security forces to step up its brazen campaign against organized labor. 

“Thus we urge Secretary Silvestre Bello to step in, form a tripartite body and remind the military and security forces that DOLE has the prerogative in dealing with organized labor,” Nagkaisa said. 

Nagkaisa! is also urging the government to invite the ILO High Level Mission to visit the country the soonest time possible. 

The group finally reminded the government that the labor movement will always come to the defence of freedom and human rights as it values the union principle ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’. 

“An assault against a part of the labor movement, therefore, is an attack against the whole movement,” concluded Nagkaisa!

03 November 2019 

Militant workers condemn arrest of Rappler’s Maria Ressa

Press Release

February 13, 2019

Partido Manggagawa partylist

Contact Judy Ann Miranda @ 09228677522

Partido Manggagawa condemns the relentless assault on the freedom of the press that has led to the arrest of Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa. The recent arrest based on questionable legal assumptions is nothing but a blatant attempt by the Duterte administration to harass and silence its critics and clip the wings of the free press under the guise of legal authority. While Malacanang would like the people to believe that the arrest has a genuine legal basis, the people clearly see through the lies and misinformation characterized by the systematic demonization of independent media outlets critical of the incumbent regime. We view the incident as another case of the Duterte regime flexing its political muscle to muzzle the press which has tirelessly worked to keep the current administration accountable.

This recent episode is another of a long list of threats to our civil rights and liberties. The continued harassment of the media is also a grave a threat to the interests of the working class. The free press is an indispensable tool for the working class and their organizations in their struggle for dignified labor and the end of precarious work conditions.

Journalists from media outlets like Rappler have been responsible for uncovering and bringing to public attention countless cases of abuse and exploitation that workers have suffered at the hands of greedy capitalists. We remember Rappler’s extensive coverage of the union Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association’s (PALEA) struggle against the unjust termination of workers and the disregard of their rights at the behest of corporate interests.

We remember the media’s role in exposing this injustice, and now that the freedom of the press is at the crosshairs of the increasingly authoritarian Duterte regime, the workers now lend their support and solidarity with the beleaguered media outlets that continue to stand for truth and justice in a climate of increasing fear and impunity. We stand together with our allies in the press and join the call for justice against the creeping shadow of tyranny. ###

Tomorrow morning from 10 am to 12 noon, student supporters of PM partylist will distribute flowers in the PUP campus and in the university belt area as a creative way of calling for defense of press freedom and ensuring voter's education (Contact Dhel Pulanco @ 09179402632)

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 calls for defense of political freedoms on Independence Day

As the nation celebrates Independence Day today, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on workers to defend political freedoms. “The workers and the people must be vigilant in protecting the liberties and freedoms we now enjoy amidst the declaration of martial law in Mindanao and the extra-judicial killings due to the war on drugs,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

The group also expressed solidarity with the rallies and events being held today to echo a similar call of defending civil liberties and political freedom. PM had earlier stated its opposition to the imposition of martial law in Mindanao.

“Even as workers are aware of the defects of the trapo democracy we have today, the rights and freedoms Filipinos possess at the moment is better than having none at all under a martial law or authoritarian regime,” Magtubo averred.

He explained that “Martial law in Mindanao is a disproportionate response to a localized issue. Further, it is a transgression of the Constitution as only rebellion and invasion, not terrorism, are the basis of imposing military rule. Clearly, after more than two weeks since its declaration, martial law has not helped in putting down the Maute group. What martial law has done is unnecessarily sacrifice workers’ and people’s rights in the guise of suppressing terrorism. Reports of the dispersal of a labor strike by soldiers in Compostela Valley is just the harbinger of such abuses under a martial law regime.”

“The accounts of abuses in Mindanao due to martial law is no different from the cases of extra-judicial killings or arbitrary arrests of labor unionists because of the war on drugs. In the bloody month of September 2016, seven labor leaders and farmer activists were killed vigilante-style, among them a PM organizer in Cebu City. That same month, a union president was arrested in Tarlac on trumped up charges of drug possession,” Magtubo said.

The group vowed to launch protests and actions to defend civil liberties and resist labor repression. “While employers’ groups were among those welcoming the declaration of martial law, workers will be at the forefront of resisting the repression of civil liberties,” Magtubo insisted.

12 June 2017

Militant labor opposes martial law in Mindanao

The militant group Partido Manggagawa (PM) today expressed opposition to the imposition of martial law in Mindanao in the wake of armed confrontations between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the so-called Maute group in Marawi City.

“Martial law in Mindanao is a disproportionate response to a localized problem. It is like using a gun to kill a fly when a swatter will suffice. The lessons of Philippine history is that martial rule is a problem not a solution as it leads to abuses and dictatorship,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that martial law will affect the exercise of civil liberties and labor rights in Mindanao. “There have been several labor strikes in Mindanao since last year and also workers’ protest actions against contractualization. Under martial law, the military can be called to suppress such legitimate acts of redress workers’ grievances. It certainly won’t be the first time such happens,” Magtubo insisted.

PM also called on Congress to revoke the declaration of martial in exercise its prerogatives to review the presidential order. The group has learned that the Congress leadership has informed solons to be on standby up to Friday. According to safeguards embedded in the Constitution, Congress has to affirm any declaration of martial law and may revoke it after 48 hours.

The group further called on Congress to review the state of lawlessness imposed over the whole of the Philippines since September 3, 2016. “The state of lawlessness has not been lifted. The imposition of martial law on top of a declaration of state of lawlessness is an escalating threat to civil liberties, political freedoms and labor rights,” Magtubo averred.

He argued that “We just hope that President Duterte’s Moscow declaration of martial law has not been unduly influenced by the alleged charisma of Putin who has been widely criticized for erecting constitutional authoritarianism in Russia.”

May 24, 2017