PM Urges Passage of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill

Photo from UPS Cebu

 

In a rally together with the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) organizations at the House of Representatives, Partido Manggagawa called on the Congress of the Philippines to urgently pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) Bill, as supporters of the measure gathered again to push for its approval.

 

Together with Partido Manggagawa Kabataan and Tara Kabataan, the party stressed that a comprehensive government response is urgently needed to protect young people from early pregnancy.

 

According to Judy Ann Miranda, Secretary General of Partido Manggagawa, the scale of adolescent pregnancy in the Philippines demands immediate action.

 

“Mahigit 500 batang babae ang nagiging ina araw-araw. Ang mga buntis na wala pang 15 taong gulang ay tumaas ng 6.6% sa loob lamang ng apat na taon. Hindi ito mga numero lamang — ito ay aming mga kaklase, kaibigan, at kapatid,” said Red Collado, PM Kabataan spokesperson.

 

Miranda added that too many young people are being pushed deeper into poverty because they lack access to accurate information and adequate support.

 

“Masyado nang maraming kabataan ang nalulugmok sa kahirapan dahil sa kakulangan ng impormasyon at suporta,” she said.

 

Partido Manggagawa said the APP Bill seeks to strengthen protection for young people through comprehensive sexuality education in schools, the establishment of Adolescent Health Centers in every municipality, and the creation of social protection programs to ensure that pregnancy does not end a young person’s future.

 

“Ang APP Bill ay proteksyon — hindi banta. Ang mga paratang na makakasama ito sa kabataan ay nakabatay sa maling impormasyon. Hindi totoo na ilalayo nito ang mga kabataan sa kanilang mga magulang o prinsipyo. Sa halip, binibigyan nito ang kabataan ng tamang gabay mula sa mga guro, magulang, at komunidad,” Miranda explained.

 

She also stressed that the bill aims to ensure that young people have access to accurate information and health services, rather than relying on misinformation that spreads easily online.

 

“Sinasabi ng mga kalaban na mapipinsala nito ang kabataan. Ang sabi namin: nangyayari na ang pinsala — at nangyayari ito sa bawat araw na wala ang batas na ito,” Collado said.

 

Partido Manggagawa reiterated that the passage of the measure can no longer be delayed.

 

“Ang APP Bill ay hindi banta — ito ay proteksyon. Hindi na makakapaghintay ang ating mga kabataan. Tinatawagan namin ang Kongreso: ipasa na ang Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill,” Miranda said.

PRESS RELEASE

March 17, 2026

PM Stands with Senator Risa Hontiveros Against Vilification by Quiboloy Camp

 

Photo from Daily Tribune

Partido Manggagawa stands with Senator Risa Hontiveros against the malicious attacks orchestrated by the Quiboloy camp, as the Committee on Women and Children resumed its public hearing yesterday on the latter’s alleged criminal offenses.

 

The group asserts that the arrest of Quiboloy is a fitting commemoration of women's month. Tomorrow women members of Partido Manggagawa are joining two mass actions; at the Senate in the morning and at Mehan Garden in the afternoon.

 

Senator Risa hoped that the man at the center of the controversy finally submits under the jurisdiction of the Senate for investigation, in aid of legislation. Quibuloy failed to show up again, prompting the committee to finally issue a warrant of arrest against the self-appointed son of god.

 

But in a bid to defend himself in absentia, Quibuloy sent his followers to the Senate yesterday to demand Senator Risa's resignation instead. His followers claim to seek justice for what they perceive as unjust treatment of their leader by both the US and Philippine governments. Yet, Quibuloy himself conveniently avoids facing the same demands for justice within his own kingdom. In retaliation, he stoops to vilifying the individual who dares to subject him to public scrutiny. 

 

Here he crossed the line long held and defended by the women’s movement.

 

Targeting a champion of women's and children's rights like Senator Risa Hontiveros is an affront to all women. It is deeply concerning to witness a cult leader, who shirks accountability for his crimes by hiding in the shadows, manipulating his female followers to shield him from scrutiny, and tarnishing the reputation of a prominent female leader. This behavior exposes him for what he truly is: an incorrigible male supremacist.

 

Senator Risa may stand as the lone woman in the Senate on this contentious issue of justice, but she stands fortified by the unwavering support from grassroots women across the nation. United in solidarity, this battle is already won, with or without Quibuloy's human body landing in jail. 

06 March 2024

Women workers to Tulfo: Hindi nakakalalaki ang VAWC

From Wikipedia

 

The militant Partido Manggagawa took issue with the stand of Senator Raffy Tulfo to amend the VAWC Law as codified his proposed Senate Bill 211 (SBN 211).

 

“Kinakailangan magpakita ng datos at matibay na batayan si Sen. Tulfo para magkaroon ng basehan ang kanyang panukalang baguhin ang VAWC para bigyan ng ispesyal na katayuan ang lalaki kumpara sa nanay at anak para mabigyan ng pantay na proteksyon at parusa sa SBN 211,” according to Judy Ann Miranda, Secretary-General of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

 

The group argued that a special law for women and children, such as the Republic Act No. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004, exists because domestic abuse against women and children has been pervasive and entrenched in Philippine society. Thus, it is not a law against men.

 

“We do not discount the fact that there may be men who are domestically abused by their wives/partners. In which case, there are provisions in the Penal Code (Articles 262, 263 and 265) and Article 72 of the new Family Code which they can use to file a complaint against their partners,” Miranda added.

 

The Philippines signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 15 July 1980 and ratified it on 5 August 1981. After more than three decades, the problem remains. At the global level, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021) estimated that “1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime,” mostly intimate partner violence.

 

“However, it should be clear to us why there is a special law specifically on domestic violence for women and children. RA 9262 gives out the message that wife-beating is not a trivial matter in Philippine society and that these abuses warrant a guarantee of protection and support from the government. We do not want male violence that is pervasive and entrenched in our society to be safely ignored and ridiculed by a proposed bill that would warrant equal protection for men,” Miranda concluded.

22 August 2022 

Extreme sacrifice, endless struggles by women under the pandemic – Partido Manggagawa

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said women workers suffered the most difficult year under the pandemic as the government, unconscious and unprepared to deal with the gender dimension of this combined health and economic crises, endowed families with only two months of ayuda during the past twelve months and treated everyone, old and children alike, as 'pasaway' under a militarized pandemic response.

 

“Bago pa man ang COVID-19 na pandemya, nasa disbentaheng posisyon na ang kababaihang manggagawa kapwa sa lugar ng trabaho at sa loob ng tahanan. Lalo lang lumala ang kalagayang ito nang umabot sa matinding krisis pang-ekonomiya ang COVID-19 pandemic dahil sa kapalpakan ng gobyerno ni Duterte sa pagtugon dito,” declared PM Secretary-General Judy Miranda, Monday, as her group joined the World March of Women at Plaza Miranda for celebrating International Women’s Day.

 

Miranda said the unemployment problem also hit the women hardest, forcing women to leave their jobs and stopped looking for new ones as they have assumed more domestic responsibilities at home, including aiding their children on their online schooling.

 

“Noong 2019, ang joblessness ay 30% sa kababaihan, 12% naman sa kalalakihan. Sa panahon ng pandemya nitong 2020, naging 47% sa kababaihan at 29% sa kalalakihan, ayon sa sarbey ng SWS. Pero hindi ibig sabihin nito ay nawalan ng trabaho ang mga babae dahil sa halip, dumami pa ang kanyang responsibilidad sa tahanan,” explained Miranda.

 

And for those who remained at work in essential services and the manufacturing sector, women workers fought back against mass layoffs and non-payment of wages and separation pay as employers made the pandemic an alibi to cut the benefits or bust the unions.

 

“Kalakhan ng ating frontliners sa health sector, food services, wholesale and retail ay kababaihan. Araw-araw nilang kaharap ang panganib, kawalan ng transportasyon, at mataas na presyo ng mga bilihin katapat ng kakarampot na sweldo,” added Miranda.

 

The group said it is this higher level of sacrifice and the daily struggle of women that helped families survive a year under the pandemic, thus, their roles must be recognized and appreciated by the government by formulating short to medium-term programs for women.

 

These include income support, public employment, day-long daycares for working mothers; and also the most important political demand of women today - democratic spaces and a  violence-free environment – in contrast to the prevailing state of killings and authoritarianism under the Duterte regime.

08 March 2021

Youth groups slam Parlade, support red-tagged celebrities

Youth groups slammed the red-tagging by Lt. Gen Antonio Parlade, commander of the AFP Southern Luzon Command, who threatened and harassed celebrities advocating for human rights. Liza Soberano was warned by Parlade after participating as a guest in a militant women group’s online forum. Aside from Soberano, Parlade also red-tagged Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Angel Locsin, whose sister was alleged as an underground activist in Quezon.

 

“We are all Liza, Catriona and Angel. Advocating for women's rights is not an act of terrorism nor a sign of being a member of a terrorist group. Speaking up for the rights of the marginalized and exploited is a right protected by the Constitution. It is impunity when death threats can be thrown at celebrities and activists on the basis of mere suspicion,” said Christine Pangan, Youth Claim Spokesperson. Youth Claim is a youth organization in Cebu composed of college students and community youth who stand for social justice.

 

Meanwhile Jonel Lalvador of Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan, stated that “Parlade's redtagging of Liza Soberano, Catriona Gray and Angel Locsin is the best argument against the Anti-Terror Law and exposes the abuses it will spawn.” PM-Kabataan is the youth wing of the militant labor group.

 

One of the most controversial provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law is the arrest of suspects without warrant and for mere suspicion, and detention for as long as 24 days. “Activism is not terrorism. It is clear that both are different but the current administration is blurring the distinction. Under the Anti-Terror Law, it is very alarming that activists can easily be red-tagged. Activists use their voice and act upon their goal to bring positive change so Parlade should stop conflating activism with terrorism. Stop red-tagging human rights organizations, religious groups, unions and the mainstream media,” said Pangan.

 

“We have this so-called freedom of expression and there is nothing wrong with it especially when you advocate for a greater good. We support women and everyone who speak out their minds, defend their rights and fight for the betterment of all. The pervasiveness of red-tagging will only worsen the Philippine government's human rights and violations. Now, that we have seen how military has red-tagged public figures, I hope we all realized how life-threatening it is especially to those people who lack money, fandom and legal connections to protect them,” asserted Labrador.

 

Pangan insisted that “The flimsy basis of Parlade to accuse Liza Soberano applies to all of us. We must be heard without being labeled terrorists.”

October 26, 2020

Crimes and labor violations committed against women workers in POGO – labor group

Photo by Rappler

How fugitives walkaway ‘freely’ from China, slip into the country with the same ease under the pastillas scheme, and land into a legitimized POGO industry, pose a major concern for women in particular, and for the country in general. 

The Partido Manggagawa (PM) aired this warning in reaction to a recent Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’ (PAGCOR) report aired over the media that over 2,000 Chinese nationals who work for Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) have been deported after authorities discovered they have criminal records in China. 

“Nakakalula,” lamented PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda after learning about the report that of the 70,000 POGO workers in the country, 2,000 fugitives were deported back to China since January 15 after having been found to have criminal records in the mainland. 

“That’s 3 fugitives out of 10. Imagine that kind of ratio when linked to the consequent rise in crime incidents related to POGO operations in the country. That connects the dots. Numbers don’t lie,” said Miranda. 

Miranda pointed out that protection of women workers, Filipino or otherwise, should be treated as a major concern in the country after a Taiwanese POGO worker recently complained of sexual harassment in her workplace. She’s also a victim of human trafficking. 

“Likewise, our law enforcers always point to Chinese nationals whenever drug bust operations or raids on sex dens were conducted.  So whether they are linked or not, the Philippine government must press itself in knowing the facts and employ corrective measures thereafter,” argued Miranda. 

POGO operations in the country have come under close scrutiny in the continuing Senate hearings led by Senator Risa Hontiveros.  

Senator Gordon, on the other hand, raised the possibility of POGO operations being used in money laundering after the Bureau of Customs reported that millions of dollars were brought into the country in bulk by suspected gaming operators. 

The labor department, meanwhile, revealed that some 4,000 POGO workers in the country carry the same TIN number. 

“If all these reports are true then our women, even our children, are at risk of becoming victims of crimes associated with gambling and other illicit activities,” said Miranda, adding that POGO operations in the country has been blamed for the rise of prostitution and sex trafficking of both Chinese and Filipino women. 

Once such measure, Miranda said, is to stop all POGO operations in the country, replace this industry with investments in real economy, strengthen our border security with immediate reforms in the Bureau of Immigration, and compel China to do the same as regards the illegal or criminal activities of their citizens. 

Women workers are celebrating the Women’s Month by pressing more protection mechanisms for women against violence, mass layoffs, trade union repression, high prices, among others. On March 8, women members of PM and other groups are holding a creative action in Timog Circle from 8 to 10 am in Timog Circle before marching from Morayta to LRT Carriedo for a salubungan with the Gabriela contingent. Last Tuesday, women workers picketed the DOLE main office and had a dialogue with labor officials on women's rights issues in the ecozones.

05 March 2020

Women workers led protest vs abuses at Cavite ecozone

Women workers of the Taiwanese-owned electronics factory Lakepower Converter Inc. in the Cavite Economic Zone held a protest today against company abuses. Among their grievances is the removal of the door of the women’s restroom so that the company can spy on workers. Almost all of the 200 workers in the factory are women.

They are also outraged at the unreasonable limits on the use of the restroom which has led to cases of workers suffering from urinary tract infection. The dispute over the restroom is just the tip of the iceberg of worker grievances at Lakepower.

Aside from the dispute over the women’s restroom, workers are also complaining of excessive quota, discrimination against unionists resulting in suspensions and their exclusion from receiving Christmas packages.

“Management is reneging on an agreement reached a few months ago to redress our grievances. Before, we complained that the restroom door was always kept open. Through mediation, they agreed to close the door to protect the privacy of workers. But now, they removed the door entirely,” stated Mercy Tanginan, president of the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Lakepower Converter Inc.

The picket today is the third protest at the Cavite ecozone over the last month. Earlier, garments workers held protest actions against “factory shutdown-cum-union busting.” After two protests and a strike threat, the union leaders at the Korean-owned garments factory Sein Together Phils. Inc. were eventually accepted back to work.

“ASEAN’s slogan of prosperity for all is just fake news as long as investors from Taiwan, Korea and others abuse and exploit Filipino workers. ASEAN is just facilitating a race to bottom in wages and working conditions with workers in the Philippines made to compete with workers in Vietnam, for example,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

Media reported the exodus of Korean companies from the Philippines to Vietnam due allegedly to the high cost of doing business. Workers insist that some of the companies may just be relocating to avoid unionization.

The groups are calling on the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to intervene. Workers are unionizing to improve their working conditions but are being met by extreme interference from capitalists unwilling to share the fruits of production.

The picket also coincides with a “Global Day of Action against Union Repression” to be participated in by workers in Australia, Asia and North America. ###

Photos of the protest can be accessed at:

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10155777536464323

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10155777572314323

16 November 2017

Lakepower management and union settle dispute with an agreement to respect freedom of association

The labor dispute at an electronics factory located in the Cavite economic zone was settled yesterday with an agreement between management and the union to respect freedom of association. The National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) called the management and union of Lakepower Converter Inc. to a meeting in a bid to resolve the complaint of union busting and unfair labor practice.

Management agreed to a set of demands by the union. First, that the company will issue a memo to be posted on bulletin boards in the factory spelling out its respect for freedom of association and prohibiting management personnel from interfering in the workers’ right to unionize as provided for in the law.

Second, that management wil not send any employees to protest the pending petition for certification of the Lakepower workers union as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent.

Third, the recall of roving armed guards in the production area.

And finally, the implementation of a previous agreement during another mediation meeting last July 7. In that agreement, management committed to resolve a list of 14 workplace grievances raised by the union including the women’s restroom doors that were kept open and airconditioners in the production area that remained closed.

In return, Lakepower management asked that the post in the Partido Manggagawa blog regarding the dispute be removed. The union agreed to the proposal and thus yesterday night the post was duly removed in compliance with the agreement.

Likewise the union withdrew the complaint for union busting and unfair labor practice in recognition of the settlement reached.

The minutes of the mediation conference formally spell out the terms of the agreeement cited above and was duly digned by representatives of Lakepower management and the union in the presence of officials of the NCMB.

Partido Manggagawa salutes the Lakepower workers, almost all of whom are women, in their steadfast fight for workers rights and considers the agreement as a victory for the union. PM is committed to assist in the protection of the rights of Lakepower workers and will monitor the compliance of the company to the terms of the agreement.

Lakepower is a Taiwanese-owned factory that makes electronic transformers for computers, appliances and even airplanes, and is a supplier to big electronics firms.

July 28, 2017

Labor group urges MIAA employee, manager to sue Cam using PAL employee case as precedent

Sandra Cam’s impending appointment to the President’s cabinet should not only be reconsidered, the dignity of both the MIAA employee and her manager should likewise be restored, according to labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM).

Cam reportedly made a show by threatening people, dropping names and arrogating imminent power at the airport’s VIP lounge, particularly against a MIAA employee and his/her manager.

“If accounts in news reports were true, then the injured parties particularly the MIAA employee and the manager should file appropriate charges against this narcissistic whistle-blower,” said PM Secretary General, Judy Ann Miranda.

Miranda added: “Workers are trained to abide with established protocols in the workplace. They were not hired to suffer indignity from powers-that-be or worse, from a VIP wannabe.”

PM disclosed that last February, a member of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association, Ms. Sarah-Bonnin Ocampo won a favorable settlement of a case of slander and serious misconduct against former AVE Partylist Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay.  The ex-congressman was forced to make a formal apology as resolution of the case with Ocampo before a municipal trial court in Pasay.

  

The case stemmed from a 2011 incident where Ocampo, PAL’s customer representative during that time at the check-in counter, was berated and offensively called a ‘menopausal bitch’ by the congressman after she refused to grant the latter’s request based on company protocols.

PM welcomed the settlement as a victory for labor and women's rights and a cause for celebration during the obeservance of women's month. "Even more, this resolution sets a precendent and warning against erring government officials or abusive customers against verbally abusing workers who are just doing their job," Miranda explained.

For others the Magsaysay-Ocampo case was ‘too small a thing’ to warrant court action or public attention. But for women activists in the labor movement, any misuse or abuse of power which either arise from the use of brute force by the mighty or from the blind acceptance of the weak should be opposed.

“In the case of Sandra Cam, it is the exploitation of non-existent power against the lowly airport workers.  She can be more dangerous with an official ID from Malacanang,” concluded Miranda.

March 11, 2017

Women call for end to endo, contractualization on Women’s month

The countdown to end ENDO and contractualization continues: 26 days.

 

Now it's the turn of women workers to demand from Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III the immediate release of a new department order ending contractualization in all its forms, a couple of days before International Women’s Day. They marched from Taft Avenue to the Labor and Employment offices in Intramuros, Manila.

 

Labor groups led by Nagkaisa on Thursday, challenged Sec. Bello to once and for all put an end ENDO (end of contract) or contractualization, the illegal practice of employers of dismissing workers to avoid their regularization. They also want an end to employers’ exploitative manpower agency and cooperative hiring, in lieu of direct hiring to avoid the granting of full benefits and tenure to employees.

 

In a meeting with labor leaders last week, President Rodrigo Duterte renewed his commitment to stop contractualization and directed the DOLE secretary to release an issuance consistent with his stance.

 

Colorful women’s march

 

Women workers from Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Sentro, Partido Manggagawa, Federation of Free Workers, PAL Employees Association, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, PSLink and a host of other trade unions comprising the Nagkaisa Women Committee, led the march. Women workers dramatized their demands with face paint, bearing colorful paper flowers, chanting: “Sa multiple burden ko, dagdag pa ang ENDO!”

 

Half of the women working population are performing unpaid family work—household chores and taking primary responsibility for rearing the children.

 

Women make up 39% of those listed as active in the labor force. Most of them work in sectors where the practice of ENDO and contractualization are prevalent such as in the service sector (51.2%), including those in sales; trade and related workers (15%); and in the manufacturing sector as plant and machine operators (14%)

 

Women workers represent 40.1% of laborers and low skilled workers, who account for 30% of the labor force.

 

“The clock is ticking. The Secretary has 26 days to implement the marching orders from Malacanang. Should he fail to stop contractualization, he would have to answer not only to the President, but more importantly he should be accountable to women workers who have been victimized by contractualization across the country,” the Nagkaisa Women Committee said.

 

Coordinated action by women workers in other parts of the country are also expected, the Nagkaisa Women Committee said. 

 

Ratify ILO Convention 151

 

Women workers are also calling for the Philippine ratification of International Labor Organization Convention 151, an international labor standard that recognizes the rights of public sector workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining. More than half (52%) of public sector workers are women. 

 

Women contractual workers under more precarious conditions

 

While both women and men are equally affected by contractualization, women suffer greater consequences. “Pregnancy is an unwritten convenient excuse to end the job contract of women so employers can avoid giving maternity benefits,” the Nagkaisa Women Committee said. This gender bias is extended to the non-regularization of nursing working mothers who can demand 40-minute lactation breaks to express their milk at lactation stations in the workplace, for every eight hours of work.

 

“Even women who avail of up to two months of paid gynecological leaves for surgical procedures done within their reproductive system, suffer discrimination at work as they are seen as additional cost for the business,” the Nagkaisa Women Committee added. This is deeply rooted in structural inequities and historical gender-based inequality such as in the areas of the wide gender pay gap and equal opportunity for promotion.

 

At the international stage, the women’s movement has also gained significant ground, thanks to the highly successful ‘Women’s March” in January.

 

According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the surge in populist misogyny threatens to reverse progress towards gender equality and women’s autonomy – from austerity and privatisation of public care services to increasingly precarious and informal work, from a resurgence in patriarchal attitudes to attacks on women’s reproductive and sexual health and rights.

 

“We remain firm in our determination to secure high quality, decent work for women and an end to the gender wage gap ande we remain committed to ending the discrimination and violence that affects women’s daily working lives,” ITUC said.

NAGKAISA

6 March 2017