MANILA, Philippines — Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) clarified on Monday that they are not against investors, but they want the government to prioritize Filipino workers over foreign interests.
“Ano ‘yong sinasabi nilang anti-investment ‘yong mga manggagawa? Ang sinasabi lang, dapat klaro na pangunahing prayoridad dapat ay mga Pilipino, at hindi mga dayuhan,” KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog said in a press briefing for Labor Day activities.
(They are saying that workers are anti-investment. What we are only saying is Filipinos should be given priority in employment, not the foreigners.)
Labog further explained that it is wrong for the administration to rely on foreign investments to spur economic growth if it does not generate enough jobs for Filipinos.
“Mali talaga ‘yong framework ng gobyerno since then na dapat umasa sa direct foreign investments. Ang foreign investments ay tumaas, two percent to 10 percent from 2016 to 2018, pero ‘yong job creation naman niya ay from 2.0 percent naging 0.2 percent,” he noted.
(The government’s framework is wrong. We do not need to rely on foreign direct investments. Those types of investments grew from 2 percent to 10 percent from 2016 to 2018, but job creation went down from 2 percent to 0.2 percent.)
“Ito ay konkretong patunay na hindi dapat naka-asa lamang sa foreign investment ang economic program ng isang gobyerno,” he added.
(This is concrete proof that the government’s economic program should not just rely on foreign investments.)
The KMU official’s statements came after Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde accused the KMU of turning off investors due to the creation of labor unions and staging protest rallies.
READ: PNP chief: Militant labor group turning off investors
Albayalde, meanwhile, was reacting to an ‘anti-worker’ matrix released by KMU over the weekend, which included officials of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
READ: KMU tags Duterte, private companies in ‘Anti-Worker’ matrix
“Bakit po ba umaalis ang mga investors sa atin? Papasukin ng KMU, i-i-instigate ‘yung unyon, and then magrarally sila, ‘yung investor mawawalan ng gana, uuwi sa kanila[ng bansa],” Albayalde said.
(Why do investors leave our country? Because the KMU comes in, they form unions, stage protest rallies. The investors lose interest so they leave.)
The police chief also called KMU’s assertions as propaganda, which twists minds into believing they are advocating poor people’s rights.
“Sino ang anti-worker ngayon? Sino ang anti-Filipino ngayon? Sino ang anti-mahirap ngayon (So who is the anti-worker? Who is anti-Filipino? Who is theanti-poor)?” he added.
Labog challenged government officials to answer questions on the status of the country’s labor sector.
“So bakit hindi sila ang magpaliwanag kung bakit 6,000 na manggagawa ang lumalabas sa ating bansa araw-araw? Bakit may 4.5 million unemployed Filipinos at 6.4 million underemployed? Kami ay contributor sa economy, mataas ang aming productivity,” he asserted.
(Why can’t they explain why 6,000 Filipino workers leave the country every day? Why can’t they explain that there are 4.5 million unemployed and 6.4 million underemployed Filipinos? We are contributors to the economy, and our productivity is high.)
Left-leaning organizations and law enforcement agencies have clashed recently over the recent spate of violence targeting farmers and activists in Negros and other parts of the country.
Police and military officials have maintained that these groups are working as legal fronts of the communist movement, mainly the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP). /ee
READ: AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations reacts to Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Zarate
READ: EU, Belgium trace funding for CPP fronts — AFP Exec