Ramon “Mon” Tulfo. Photo from Tulfo’s Facebook account
MANILA, Philippines — Ramon Tulfo is acting like China’s special envoy to the Philippines instead of the other way around, a labor leader said on Sunday.
“Kung masipag man itong si Tulfo, ito ay kasipagang niyang magsalita at mang-intriga. Malayong malayo sa manggagawa na lumilikha ng produkto at serbisyong may pinakikinabangan ng lahat ng tao,” Leody de Guzman, chairperson of the labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), said in a statement.
“He seems to have misunderstood his job description, he is acting like China’s envoy to the Philippines,” he added.
De Guzman said this following Tulfo’s refusal to apologize for saying one of the reasons for the influx of Chinese workers in the country was that companies preferred them over Filipino workers.
READ: TUCP asks Tulfo to apologize for insulting Filipino workers
“Why should I apologize to you for telling the truth that you’re basically lazy and a slowpoke? Does the truth hurt?” Tulfo said in a tweet on Saturday.
READ: Tulfo: No apology for telling ‘truth’ on ‘lazy’ Filipino workers
Tulfo was appointed as the country’s special envoy for public diplomacy to China in October 2018.
READ: Duterte appoints Mon Tulfo as special envoy to China
With this, De Guzman noted that the country’s economic growth can be attributed to Filipino workers.
“Kaya nga tinawag na manggagawa, kasi nga gumagawa. Walang ibang dahilan ng pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ng bansa liban sa manggagawang Pilipino. Patunay ng aming kasipagan ay yung mismong pinagmamalaki ng administrasyong ito na Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Gross National Product (GNP),” he said.
The labor leader cited figures from Forbes Magazine in October 2018, which showed that the country’s per capita GDP reached $2,891.36 dollars in 2017 which De Guzman claimed to be “remarkably exceptional’ given that the Philippines’ average for the period 1960-2017 is only at $1,627.98 dollars.
Meanwhile, the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) slammed Tulfo over his remarks and urged him to stop justifying them.
“Why should this administration complain for the lack of skilled workers when all they have done is strengthen policies that discourage skilled Filipino workers from remaining in the country,” Sonny Melencio, chair of PLM, said.
“Wages are at starvation levels, just enough for workers to return the following day to be enslaved all over again, Contractualization remains prevalent and the administration is also actively goading Filipinos to apply for work in other countries instead of generating sustainable jobs locally,” he added. /je