VARIED VOICES Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers joins the Bonifacio Day rally in Manila. —Richard A. Reyes
MANILA, Philippines — Labor groups marked Bonifacio Day on Saturday with protest-marches on España Boulevard and Mendiola Street in Manila to demand government action on pressing issues confronting workers amid bickering by the country’s various political factions.
The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition reiterated its call for a legislated wage hike of P150 or more and the abolition of provincial rates to help workers cope with the rising cost of living. It also renewed pleas to government to abolish contractualization in both public and private sector.
The coalition lamented that while marathon hearings continue to be held at the House of Representatives on the war on drugs of the previous administration and the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Vice President, the labor committee stopped deliberating on the legislated wage hike.
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While exacting accountability from the past administration is “a good agenda” to pursue, Nagkaisa said sidelining key labor reforms, such as legislating wage hike and ending labor contractualization, is tantamount to “perpetuating a state of national calamity.”
Nagkaisa also emphasized the compounding effects of recent typhoons, which have devastated communities across the country.
“This situation reflects decades of government neglect and the self-serving priorities of political dynasties, reaffirming Bonifacio’s belief that there can be no ‘kaginhawahan’ (comfort) ‘kalayaan’ (freedom) from this kind of rule,” it said.
The coalition argued that both the coalescing and warring political dynasties are importunate barriers to genuine progress for Filipino workers.
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The Partido Manggagawa said that amid the “intense” political infighting between the camps of the President and Vice President, “workers [should] choose no sides and will not join any ‘fake people power,’” according to Judy Miranda, the group’s secretary general.
This was also the sentiment of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and the Kilusang Mayo Uno.
“When the new year entered, both the Marcos and Duterte factions did not attend to anything, but their rivalry for the 2025 and 2028 elections. The continuing and intensifying telenovela of the antagonistic ‘Team Kasamaan’ and ‘Team Kadiliman’ is getting tiresome. These are the [political] dynasties that have been neglectful of the poverty [among Filipinos] and which prioritize the interest of their clans,” BMP said in a statement.