‘True Sona: People are hungrier, poorer’ – activists
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Militant groups called the President’s state-of-the-nation address as another set of lies, lip service and deception as they gathered at the Freedom Park and marched towards the UCCP Haran, where they held their own version of “SONA ng Bayan.”
In the “true state of the nation,” the workers and the people are hungrier, poorer, more miserable, according to Carlo Olalo, spokesperson of Kilusang Mayo Uno – Southern Mindanao.
Olalo said President Aquino has encouraged massive corruption during his term, by unilaterally exonerating his close friends and political allies tagged as masterminds of the pork barrel scam.
“He must also be held accountable for the deaths of Filipinos in the Mamasapano tragedy and his criminal neglect of the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda,” Olalo said.
At the UCCP Haran, lumad evacuees aired their grievances in their “Sona ng Bayan.” Forced to flee their homes because of the heavy presence of soldiers in their communities in Talaingod and Kapalong, Davao del Norte, the lumad evacuees sought refuge at the UCCP Haran compound. But in recent weeks, they were forcibly asked to leave by the police and encouraged to return home.
Benito Bay-ao, council leader of Salugpongan Ta Tanu Igkanogon, said the lumad refused to return home and would only do so if government pulled out the soldiers in their schools and community.
He slammed the President for intensifying military attacks against their schools and communities.
“We are forcibly recruited to take up arms to fight the NPA,” Bay-ao said.
“That’s what we experienced from soldiers and the paramilitary group Alamara in our communities, we are stopped from working in our farms, we are constantly threatened, our women are being raped, this is the reason why we fled our homes and evacuated,” he said.
“But instead of helping us, government agencies are forcing us to return home, where we faced the constant threats of soldiers.”
Kerlan Fanagel, secretary general of the lumad group Pasaka, said the lumad have experienced government neglect for centuries but recently, this worsened because of the presence of soldiers in their communities.
Olalo said contrary to the claims of record economic growth under the Aquino administration, workers have become poorer, hungrier and more vulnerable now than ever before.
“Basic social services are being privatized, the urban poor and the lumad are being whisked away from their lands and communities violently so that corporations can enter,” Olalo said.
Olalo said despite repeated claims of “inclusive growth,” average purchasing power in the country has decreased. He cited the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which showed that the average purchasing power for workers in Southern Mindanao declined by an average of nine percentage points when Aquino took office in 2010 to only 0.67 in June 2015.
“As a result, the measly wage hikes implemented under his term had zero effect on the lives of working people,” he said.
At present, Southern Mindanao non-agricultural workers get a minimum daily wage of P317, while agricultural workers get P307 (agricultural), which is seven times less than the family living wage of P1,088 daily.
KMU also blasted President Aquino’s labor policies as an erosion of the hard-earned rights of working people. The right to self-organization has been increasingly under attack through contractualization and trade union repression.
“The right to regular employment is eroded because Aquino legalized contractualization,” he said, referring to the DOLE Department Order
18-A.
“ Contractualization has become more widespread and has contributed to the declining levels of unionization among workers,” he said.
