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 36th 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. ###
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