De Guzman demands expansion of ‘Pantawid Pasada’, ODL repeal

Press Release

28 April 2019

De Guzman demands expansion of ‘Pantawid Pasada’, ODL repeal

Gov’t silence on Oxford oil price hike report, “irresponsible”

Labor senatoriable Leody De Guzman demanded the expansion of “Pantawid Pasada” fuel voucher beneficiaries and the repeal of Republic Act 8479, or the Oil Deregulation Law (ODL), in light of the recent report by Oxford Economics that the Philippines will be “feel the most pain” when oil prices are expected to shoot up to $100 per barrel by 2020.

“Hindi na dapat natin hintayin pa na magka-krisis bago natin simulan ang mga ‘preemptive actions’, lalo na’t ngayon pa lang sa ilalim ng TRAIN Law (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) ay nahihirapan na ang mga manggagawa sa transport,” De Guzman said.

The current “Pantawid Pasada” enrols 179,000 valid franchise holders of Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJs), but De Guzman said that the actual number of PUJ drivers is around 250,000-270,000.

“Hindi lang din naman jeepney driver ang nahihirapan sa pagsirit ng langis, nandiyan din ang mga gumagamit ng motor para pumasok araw-araw sa trabaho. Higit pa sa pag-cover ng lahat ng jeepney drivers, dapat isama na ang mga minimum wage earners na gumagamit ng motor,” the labor leader said.

De Guzman said that the silence of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) with the Oxford Economics report is “borderline irresponsible”, given that drivers are “already carrying the burden of TRAIN law’s petroleum excise taxes”.

“Alam naman natin kung gaano kabagal magpanukala at mag-finalize ng polisiya sa Pilipinas. Dapat naa-anticipate na ng DOE at DOTr ang mga ganito sitwasyon. Ngayon pa lang ay dapat hinahanda na nila ang expansion ng ‘Pantawid Pasada’,” he proposed.

Repeal ODL

De Guzman, who run under Partido Lakas ng Masa explained, however, that the “strategic solution” is the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, “so the government will have the power to prevent the downstream oil industry from taking advantage of international price movements.”

“Tuwing sisirit ang petrolyo sa world market, mas malaki ang itinataas ng mga higanteng oil retailers kaysa sa totoong pagtaas. Pero kapag bumagsak naman ang presyo ay kay kupad nilang mag-rollback,” he complained.

If downstream oil prices are regulated, De Guzman explained, then the government can ensure that “no crisis profiteering” can occur, and it can “better implement a more just transition to fossil-fuel based transport.”

“Ang sinasabi kasi ng pamahalaan, hayaang sumirit ang presyo ng gasolina at diesel para daw ma-encourage ang alternative transport. Eh saan manggagaling ang alternatiba na ‘to, at may pambili ba ang mga tao? Hangga’t walang konkretong solusyon, kailangan i-regulate muna ang sektor ng downstream oil,” De Guzman concluded.###

Reference: Leody de Guzman 0920-5200672

Partido Lakas ng Masa

April 28 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work

In 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO), began to observe World Day in order to stress the prevention of accidents and diseases at work, capitalizing on the ILO's traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue.

This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO, as documented in the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference in June 2003. One of the main pillars of the Global Strategy is advocacy, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a significant tool to raise awareness of how to make work safe and healthy and of the need to raise the political profile of occupational safety and health.

28 April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996.

The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.

https://www.un.org/en/events/safeworkday/background.shtml

Pahayag ng BMP sa iligal na pag-aresto sa 11 magsasaka sa Negros Occ.

PAHAYAG NG BMP SA ILIGAL NA PAG-ARESTO SA 11 MAGSASAKA SA NEGROS OCC.

Pagsipi: Luke Espiritu, National President, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino

Nakarating sa amin ang balita na noong Abril 1, 11 magsasaka ang iligal na inaresto ng kapulisan at militar sa Barangay Sebucauan, Isabela, Negros Occidental sa maling akusasyon na New People’s Army (NPA) raw sila. Siyam sa mga magsasakang ito ang kinulong sa asuntong murder sa napaslang na konsehal Jolomar Hilario ng bayan ng Moises Padilla (Magallon) sapagkat ang dalawang iba pa ay mga menor de edad.

Nangyari ang pag-aresto habang hinahabol ng mga militar ang mga nakaengkwentrong ARMADONG mga kalalakihan na diumano'y NPA matapos makipagpalitan ng putok. Ang 11 magsasaka ay naglalakad patungo sa bahay ng kanilang lola ng may-ari ng tubuhan para kumain matapos ang maghapong pagsaka. Wala silang dalang anumang armas—tanging mga kasangkapan lamang sa pagsasaka ang kanilang tangan.

Mismong ang Barangay Kapitana ng Sebucauan na si Amy Locsin ang nagpatotoo sa pamamagitan ng isang sertipikasyon na mga lehitimong residente ng barangay ang 11 magsasaka at sila'y mga ordinaryong mamamayan lang doon.

Ayon kay Denmar Recto, isa sa mga menor de edad na inaresto, “inimbitahan” lang sila ng mga pulis na nagpakilalang taga-Bacolod sa Barangay Hall ng Sebucauan para “beripikahin” ang kanilang pagkakalilanlan. Ang mga pulis ang nagsilbing blocking force habang nagaganap ang bakbakan sa pagitan ng militar at diumano’y NPA.

Ayon sa salaysay ni Recto, nang makarating sila sa Barangay Hall, sapilitan silang isinakay sa trak ng pulis. Pinatotoo ng lahat ng mga kagawad ng barangay na ang mga inaresto ay hindi NPA kundi mga lokal na residente at sila ay mga tapasero ng tubo. Ang sabi ng pulis dadalhin sila sa istasyon ng Isabela. Doon naman nagtungo at sumunod ang mga kagawad ng barangay. Ngunit, dinala ang 11 sa police station ng bayan ng Moises Padilla.

Bandang alas siyete ng gabi, dumating ang isang babae at dalawang lalake na pawang nakatakip ang mga mukha at nagturo na tila’y mga makapili. Napansin ni Recto na nag-uusap ang mga nakamaskarang tao at mga pulis subalit hindi niya marinig ang kanilang pinag-uusapan.

Bandang alas otso ng gabi, dumating si Kapitana Locsin at tinanong ang mga pulis kung makakauwi na ang mga dinakip na magsasaka. Ang sabi ng mga pulis, makakauwi sila matapos ang imbestigasyon. Hindi ito nangyari sapagkat agad silang isinailalim sa inquest proceedings sa piskalya ng probinsya ng Negros Occidental at inasuntuhan ng kasong murder. Matapos nito, ikinulong sila sa himpilan ng Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office sa Bacolod.

Diringgin sa mga susunod na araw ang kasong murder sa piskalya ng Bacolod. Kapag nakitaan ng "probable cause," makukulong nang walang piyansa ang 9 na magsasaka.

Kasalukuyang tinutulungan ng pinagsanib na pwersa ng Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), at PLM - Partido Lakas ng Masa party-list ang mga nakulong na magsasaka.

Magsasaka ang nagpapakain sa mamamayan! Wag nating hayaan ang gobyerno na sila'y paglaruan!

#FreeSebucauan9

Senate bet bats for “industrial and logistics policy” to generate jobs for new grads

Press Release

03 April 2019

Senate bet bats for “industrial and logistics policy” to generate jobs for new grads;

7-month low in manufacturing growth, alarming – De Guzman

Labor Senate bet Leody De Guzman calls for legislation for a “logistics and industrial policy” to address the country’s manufacturing woes, citing the latest IHS Markit/Nikkei survey report of a 7th-month low in manufacturing growth.

The survey found that the seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a weighted index representing output, employment, orders, inventories, and other measures of manufacturing performance, dropped from 51.9 in February to 51.5 in March, following reports of port congestion in Manila.

“This is an alarming statistic, considering that the ‘Build Build Build’ initiative should have increased demand for the manufacturing sector specially with the hundreds of thousands who recently graduated and has officially entered the country’s labor pool, on top of the steady increase in the number of unemployed,” De Guzman said.

Official income accounts of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier reported a deceleration in manufacturing growth in 2018, with 4th quarter growth hitting 3.2 percent compared to 7.9 percent at the same quarter in 2017.

“Amid the election noise, the government should follow through with the President’s rhetoric of national industrialization and begin the process of developing a clear industrial policy that will generate jobs for our new graduates and invigorate the local economy,” the sole Partido Lakas ng Masa candidate said.

Revamp DTI Charter, GOCC Code, LGC

De Guzman also scored the “Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy” or the i3S program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), insisting that the program is “toothless unless major reforms are made in the DTI charter and the GOCC governance act".

“If we won’t remove the straitjacket on the DTI and government corporations, then all we can promote are small-scale businesses and we will be forever relegated to a small-economy status,” De Guzman said.

The labor leader calls for revisions in the DTI charter under Book IV, Title X of the Executive Order 292 or Revised Administrative Code of 1987 to give the agency more powers to “promote and regulate industry via import substitution strategies and direct subsidies to industrial champions.”

De Guzman clarified, "Hangga't ang ating bansa ay nakatuon bilang exporter ng isang global assembly line at umaasa sa importasyon para sa ating pangangailangan, hindi uunlad ang bansa. Dapat pinag-aaralan kung anong mga produkto at serbisyo ang kaya at kakayanin nating likhain upang dito ituon ang suporta. Imbes na inaangkat natin ang naturang mga pangangailangan, likhain ang kondisyon para sila ay likhain”.

He added that, “At kung dadami pa at uunlad pa ang kalidad ng trabaho, kung saan krusyal na usapin ang sahod at benepisyo ng kanilang mga manggagawa, ang mga produkto at serbisyong ito ay hindi na lamang para sa domestic market kundi para sa pandaigdigang merkado".

De Guzman also called for revisions in the Republic Act 10149, so as to promote “creating government-owned corporations that act as pace-setters in innovative industries such as pharmaceuticals, high-tech agriculture, and artificial intelligence”.

"Hindi tayo kinakapos sa skilled workers para sa mga makabagong mga teknolohiya. Katunayan, sa iba't ibang manupaktura sa maraming bansa, matatagpuan doon ang ating mga OFW," he continued.

Finally, De Guzman called tweaking the Local Government Code (LGC) so as to mandate Local Government Units (LGU) to draft “local industrial plans” on top Comprehensive Development Plans (CDP) and Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP) they are currently required to produce.###

De Guzman to Duterte: Heads must roll if anomalies found

Press Release

02 April 2019

De Guzman to Duterte: Heads must roll if anomalies found

Include Congress, civil society, private sector in audit

Manila, Philippines – Labor Senate bet Leody de Guzman challenged President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to fire Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Economic Secretary Ernesto Pernia, and Solicitor General Jose Calida if the government’s investigation on loan agreements with China will reveal anomalies and irregularities.

“The fact that it is the administration itself which promoted and signed these deals show that the President’s men themselves are accountable for any treasonous and anti-people provisions that will be found in the agreements,” De Guzman said.

De Guzman cited the lack of transparency and onerous agreements in the Kaliwa Dam project, a “centrepiece project” of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Philippines.

“For instance, the loan agreement for Kaliwa Dam would not have been signed without endorsement and tacit approval from Dominguez, Pernia, and Calida. If it is found to be anomalous, then these men should be fired,” De Guzman demanded.

All loan agreements require the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), endorsement from the Department of Finance (DOF), and should have been reviewed by the Office of Solicitor-General (OSG) for infirmities.

Include Congress, Civil Society, Private Audit Firms

The labor leader also asked for an “unbiased audit” by expanding to audit initiative to include participants from the Senate, House of Representatives, civil society, and private audit, legal, and accountancy firms.

““There is a clear conflict of interest in the case of Calida investigating loan agreements which were approved by his office. Chances that these agreements will be whitewashed is highly probable,” De Guzman asserted.

He recalled that the Senate under former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III already expressed interest in auditing loan agreements, so they should be included in the audit initiative.

“Senate President Pimentel and (Sen. Risa) Hontiveros already filed Senate Resolution No. 253 directing the Senate committees to review foreign loans entered by the Philippine government in aid of legislation. They should be allowed to continue this initiative,” De Guzman said.

Citizen’s Debt Audit

De Guzman also recalled the “citizen’s debt audit initiative” which reviewed “illegitimate China loan agreements” during the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The citizen’s debt audit initiative included De Guzman, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, former Senator Wigberto Tañada, former Representatives Barry Guitierrez, Rene Magtubo, and JV Bautista, former economic chief Sixto Roxas, and academics Randy David and Grace Jamon, among others.

“We were interested then into auditing Arroyo’s questionable agreements with the Chinese government, particularly the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with ZTE and the Cyber Education Project deal, and other projects funded by the Chinese EXIM banks,” he explained.

De Guzman calls on citizens to “conduct their own audit initiative and submit their findings to the public and Congress” to “countercheck Calida and his colleagues who might want to use the audit as an opportunity to save themselves”.###