Give jeepney operators and drivers a holiday gift: Extend the individual franchise by a year

 

We ask President Bong Bong Marcos, Jr to be nice not naughty. The government should extend the individual franchise of traditional jeepneys by another year as a holiday gift.

The impending revocation of individual franchises by January 1, 2024 threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of operators and drivers. Let us not deprive hardworking Filipinos of their means of livelihood as we are all facing economic difficulties with rising prices of basic goods, especially rice, and the harsh impacts of climate change like El Nino.

 

Partido Manggagawa stands in solidarity with our fellow jeepney operators and drivers in their struggle. While strikes do disrupt our daily lives, it is a small sacrifice for the preservation of affordable fares and the continued livelihood of our fellow jeepney operators and drivers.

 

If the outcome of consolidation and modernization is the displacement of informal traditional jeepneys with modern jeepneys under corporate management, this will result in higher fares, exacerbating the hardships of Filipinos amidst inflation.

 

Let us remember how water and electricity rates skyrocketed after privatization and corporations took control of public utilities. The same will happen if corporations take over the routes and franchises on the roads.

 

There is no doubt that the current PUV modernization will lead to a widespread phaseout. The price of modern jeeps exceeds 2 million pesos, making it unaffordable for struggling operators, especially when the promised government subsidy is only 160,000 pesos.

 

While traditional jeepneys should transition to reduce pollution, it bears emphasizing that private vehicles have significantly higher carbon emissions. The transition should result in a better life for jeepney operators and drivers, rather than unemployment. Jeepney cooperatives are a viable alternative to corporations, but they require sufficient time and support. Negotiations should listen to the pleas of jeepney operators and drivers—a just transition amid climate change adaptation.

 

However, such negotiations for a just transition may not happen because the government insists on proceeding with the PUV modernization while pushing the consolidation deadline. Therefore, it is right to oppose the government's stubbornness with the jeepney strike. It will not be a happy new year for jeepney operators and drivers.

December 18, 2023

Workers welcome return of libreng sakay but oppose planned EDSA busway privatization

Photo from Inquirer

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) welcomed the return of the “libreng sakay” program of the government but expressed opposition to the planned privatization of the EDSA bus carousel.

 “Free rides on EDSA is good news for workers and commuters. But privatizing the EDSA carousel will mean higher fares without better service once implemented. We should have learned our lessons from the epic fail of electricity and water privatization. Electricity rates in the country are the highest in Asia and water concessionaires cannot even provide 24/7 service,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

The labor leader said workers won’t accept the template of outright privatization as a cure to mismanagement, corruption, and bad governance by those in power. He also countered reports that DOTR’s proposal to privatize the Edsa busway has the support of trade unions.

Magtubo added that “The labor movement’s stand is that privatization is not a panacea to our public transportation problems, and we don’t subscribe to the idea that a privatized transport system is a global standard. Mass transport systems in many economies remain publicly run and efficiently managed.”

PM said that the free ride was beneficial to the working people in terms of saved income and travel time. “Transforming the system into a cooperative-run busway may create an alternative economy, as well as synergy to both the coop workers and the commuting public instead of the typical ‘seller-buyer’ relationship under the privately-run utilities that we had over the past several decades,” Magtubo insisted.

Likewise, Magtubo stressed that the government must retain control of international airports, and may opt to consider other models like cooperatives for the operation of the EDSA busway carousel.

“There are many examples of successful public transportation systems and airports around the world that are owned and controlled by the state, such as those in Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Singapore, and Canada. Even the US hasn’t embraced privatization for running its 5,000 public airports, while our neighbor Hong Kong maintains the world’s best in mass transport system. These systems and airports provide affordable and efficient transportation options for the public, while also serving as a vital source of public income and employment,” Magtubo explained.

PM urged the government to listen to the concerns of the people and to prioritize the needs of the public over private interests.

“We stand with the working class and the people in calling for an efficient and equitable transportation system that serves the needs of all Filipinos. What the country needs is a strong, accountable, comprehensive, responsive, effective, and democratic public services,” Magtubo concluded.

13 January 2023
Partido Manggagawa

Labor party joins other groups in pushing for right to water

PRESS RELEASE
22 March 2011

The labor party Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) links up with other groups under the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) pushing for the recognition and enforcement of the right to water.

A rally led by FDC was held this morning at the Mabuhay Rotonda on the occasion of the 18th World Water Day, urging President Aquino to unequivocally declare the government’s recognition of this right and to take the lead in ensuring that water preservation and water supply provision is built around the human right to water and the principles of environmental sustainability.

PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda said that because water is a finite
natural resource, global capitalism was able to alter its social function from being a ‘common good’ into a private commodity being traded into the market.

“Gone were the times when 'free water' is enjoyed by communities. Now it is a private commodity traded similar to how a cola is priced in the market,” explained Miranda.

The labor group said the privatization of the water industry in many parts of the world, including the Philippines, transformed this social good into a cash-rich business that delivers high returns to private corporations while becoming more inaccessible to the poor.

In 1992, the United Nations declared March 22 as the World Water Day in recognition of the importance of securing global water resource. Water right is a human right that cannot be denied to anybody, including the next generations.

Miranda added that chronic poverty made many poor communities virtually “waterless” as private water utilities would only lay their pipes to economically viable areas leaving the unconnected households at the mercy of aguadors who supply them with more costly and unsafe water.

According to FDC, between 1990 to 2006, the percentage of Filipinos with access to improved water sources decreased from 87% to 81%. A total of 432 communities have been listed as waterless, with less than 50% of the households having access to safe potable water supply.

Moreover, watersheds are recklessly being destroyed by corporate activities such as metallic and fossil fuel mining and other industrial activities which largely contribute also to climate change.