On Tulfo's refusal to apologize: All he does is yap, we work – labor bet

Press Release

10 March 2019

On Tulfo's refusal to apologize: All he does is yap, we work – labor bet

Labor leader and senatorial bet Leody de Guzman strongly objected statements made by Special Envoy to China, Ramon Tulfo after he remained adamant to calls for him to apologize after belittling Filipino workers.

The former Inquirer columnist called Filipino workers “lazy” and added that they “talk too much and smoke heavily”, making them less preferred by developers in an interview by CNN Philippines.

“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 at Gross National Product,” said De Guzman.

He noted that even Forbes Magazine in October last year reported that the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines reached 2,891.36 U.S. dollars in 2017 which he claimed is remarkably exceptional given that Philippines’ average for the period 1960-2017 is only 1,627.98 USD.

De Guzman also took a jab at Tulfo saying that, “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”.

“He seems to have misunderstood his job description, he is acting like China's envoy to the Philippines,” he posited.

Meanwhile Partido Lakas Masa, De Guzman’s political party also said that Tulfo should quit justifying his claims.

“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, said its second nominee, Sonny Melencio.

“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,” Melencio explained.

De Guzman is running for a Senate seat on a pro-labor platform. This includes a national minimum wage equal to the living wage, abolition of all tripartite employment schemes, institutionalization of an unemployment insurance for retrenched employees and installing mechanisms towards the full transparency of funds under the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.###