PRESS RELEASE
25 February 2014
The 1986 People Power uprising created great opportunities for the
country to move forward and to fulfil the great Filipino dream of enjoying a
better quality of life. Yet for the
labor group, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), the past 28 years can truthfully be
described as ‘sayang’ or wasted opportunities
bungled by post Edsa rulers.
In a statement PM enumerated some of the major achievements of Edsa,
which, if haven’t been wasted, could have transformed the life of the working
people adequately better.
These include the dismantling of the Marcos dictatorship and replacing
it with a relatively more liberal order; the institutionalization of
anti-corruption measures; the ratification of a new Constitution that embodied a
strong national patrimony and social justice provisions; and; the regular
holding of national and local elections thereafter.
“But behind Edsa’s democratic façade were undisputable facts about its
failed outcomes,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo.
The group stated further that while every Filipino especially those who
braved the streets against the dictatorship must be recognized for making Edsa
1 and also Edsa 2 possible, it is worth evoking as well that there really is a visible
failure in making life better for the masses under the rule of post-Edsa
regimes.
Notwithstanding the unaddressed problem of corruption, PM cites as a more
biting example the failure of the two Aquinos (Cory and PNoy) to capitalize on
their immense mandate and popularity to move the country away from the
‘business-as-usual’ development path imposed by foreign and local capital.
“So when PNoy asked his cabinet men and women on why the unemployment
rate remained high despite the remarkable growth in GDP over the past several
years, it only showed how pathetic the second Aquino can be to remain puzzled over
the issue of jobless growth which is a problem that has been there since the
time of his mother,” said Magtubo.
The average unemployment rate in 1986 was 6.7 percent. In December 2013
it stood at 7.3 percent based on government’s official survey to as high as
27.5 percent based on the survey by Social Weather Station (SWS).
The group also drew some pessimistic parallelism on the two Aquinos,
particularly on the power issue. PM
explained that Cory Aquino left the Presidency with a crippling power
crisis. PNoy might finish his term in
2016 leaving the same problems of high power rates and thinning power supply.
And with the elite class apparently exercising full control of
government and businesses, the group considers the PNoy government very far
from being inclusive.
In conclusion, PM pointed out that the major failures of Edsa led to
the perpetuation of elite rule, inequality, and chronic poverty in the country.
They include:
§
The intensification rather than the weakening of
political dynasties due to lack of political reforms and the pervasiveness of
corruption;
§
The dogged subservience to neoliberal policies
such as privatization, deregulation and liberalization which prevented the
country’s march towards industrialization and inclusive growth;
§
The corporate capture of almost all branches of
government.
The group, however, won’t declare people power as “sayang”. It maintained that all is not lost of Edsa,
specifically on the necessity and wisdom of resistance and collective action
taking this form.
“Workers will never give up the union spirit of collective action. With the whole system faithfully serving the
interest of the 1%, we have no choice but to keep the people power option our
ultimate recourse to effect change that is truly meaningful,” concluded Magtubo.
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