Members of the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition staged another
protest in front of the Senate on the eve of Valentine's Day against charter
change (chacha), simultaneous with the Senate's ongoing investigation into
reported anomalies in the gathering of signatures for the people’s initiative
(PI) to amend the Constitution.
Joined by Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa (KALIPUNAN), the
two groups urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to prioritize the
immediate needs of the working people, such as increasing workers' wages,
lowering the prices of goods, jobs crisis, combating poverty and violence,
including those against women, and addressing the climate crisis, which is the
biggest global problem today.
“Ang dapat pusuan ng mga mambabatas ay wage hike at pagkamit
sa living wage, hindi ang chacha para sa mayaman at dayuhan," said Partido
Manggagawa (PM) Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda, challenging the Senate to
finally pass the proposed P100 wage hike bill, which was already reported in
plenary by Committee on Labor Chair Sen. Jinggoy Estrada last week.
Miranda emphasized that the same should be done in the House
of Representatives, where bills proposing P150, P750 and P33,000/month for
public sector workers wage hikes as well as the abolition of regional wage
boards are pending, instead of leading a fake people’s initiative.
Furthermore, creating green and climate jobs to address
chronic unemployment and climate crisis is a new social imperative that
Congress needs to decisively address, said Miranda.
Meanwhile, Josua Mata, one of the conveners of NAGKAISA! and
Secretary General of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa
(SENTRO), stated that even the ongoing Senate hearings on economic charter
change not only consume time but also divert attention from the real problems
of the masses because the blame is placed on the Constitution rather than on
the unequal distribution of wealth and dynastic governance in our country.
"The Constitution did not hinder us from developing our
own industries. But we don't even have an industrial policy. In fact, foreign
interest prevented us from doing so through the dictates of the IMF-WB and WTO
for liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. But why are we blaming the
Constitution now,” asked Mata to the proponents of economic charter change.
Mata also warned that opening up charter change in many ways
could also lead to disregarding its provision prohibiting the entry of nuclear
arms into the country, especially when the same is not strictly enforced in the
case of the entry of US military hardware into the country.
This is a reaction to reports that the Philippines is expecting the arrival of nuclear-capable BraHmos supersonic missiles imported from India for P21 billion. "Is there a plan for the Philippines to become a nuclear power while the majority of Filipinos remain poor?"
Photos can be accessed at PM FB page: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid02Zi4mJTniMUU3EHTybNhUKHqFZv3EeZUs2fpK17pP7DNkq2QDLikFcVeMeHnDmzYNl
NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition
February 13, 2024
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