De Guzman sees absent bet in doctor’s anti-labor stance

Presidental bets Leody de Guzman and Dr. Jose Montemayor Jr. (File photos from their Facebook account)

MANILA, Philippines — A discussion between presidential candidates Leody de Guzman and Dr. Jose Montemayor Jr. — whether to favor workers or capitalists — continued well into the latter part of the “Presidential Debate” of CNN Philippines on Sunday.

This is the portion when candidates were asked about their reasons for running for president.

De Guzman said that he was running because many of the candidates, though bright and capable, had a platform used by past administrations —  one he said that focused more on big businesses instead of workers.

Montemayor countered this by saying that their premise was wrong because they were focused on self-centered goals, like countering capitalists — a “very simplistic” approach.

This prompted De Guzman to ask whether former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who skipped the event, was really in attendance.

“I thought Marcos wasn’t here. But he is. All the praise goes to the capitalist. All the scolding goes to the workers. That’s why the ranks of workers are being broken up. The workers are bad-mouthed,” De Guzman replied in Filipino.

“What I want to say is that in the time of COVID, in 2021, there was a rise of 28 to 94 percent in the net worth of the capitalists, at a time when the people are going hungry. The capitalists have so much wealth, and yet you belittle the workers who keep our society alive. I thought Marcos wasn’t here. But he is,” he went on.

Big business vs. workers

The discussion between De Guzman and Montemayor started even before the question was asked.

In the earlier portion, Montemayor asked De Guzman if he was even thinking about employers when he proposed a P750 across the board minimum wage.

De Guzman replied that he was — especially of the small business owners. He said he was merely looking after the welfare of workers who had been neglected.

De Guzman said that the problem with the other presidential candidates was that they would probably use a similar framework that other administrations had used — like trickle-down economics, which he said never worked.

“Those who running now are competent. I heard everything. They’re good, smart — like the previous presidents,” De Guzman said. “But the problem is that their framework for running is the same framework of former presidents — to sustain the big business owners. They were to be sustained and the hope of the country would be placed in their hands.”

“Everyone is all in favor of giving everything to the big capitalists of the past. But whatever the capitalists get they don’t really come out of their pockets again. The trickle-down theory is not true. It’s not true,” he added.

The labor leader further said that if the next administration would continue to favor the capitalist the country would remain in a dismal state.

What the next administration should do instead is to mount an economic recovery for the benefit of workers.

“Otherwise, if the framework for our governance would remain the same, we would just keep repeating what happened in the time of Marcos [the current presidential candidate’s namesake and father], of [Rodrigo] Duterte, of Cory [Aquino]. It would happen again — we will be deep in debt. We will not prosper under the capitalists,” De Guzman said.

“So we should prioritize the welfare of workers, the welfare of the country the welfare of farmers. Let’s use them as the foundation for the prosperity of our country — not the big business owners,” he added.

Former presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella echoed De Guzman’s sentiments.

Montemayor said, however, that they were “simplistic.”

“Their premise is wrong. It’s all selfish. You know I’m a doctor and I’m running. But so what? The pandemic — and the impact of the pandemic on all the sectors, the economy, jobs, unemployment — for them that’s it. Very simplistic. They’re just trying to get votes, sacrificing the future of the people,” Montemayor said.

“Everything’s about the workers. Yes, I’m also a worker in a hospital. But let’s remember, we are still in the COVID time. There’s still a pandemic. If we are all just focused on one sector, we won’t prosper,” he added.

The candidates tackled labor issues, especially as the pandemic had exposed the threat of low wages. Currently, the minimum wage is P537 in Metro Manila, which many experts believe is not enough to feed a family of four.

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