DTI’s ‘win-win solution’: Sugar coating to legitimize workers’ further exploitation

DTI’s ‘win-win solution’: Sugar coating to legitimize workers’ further exploitation

MILITANT labor again slammed the so-called ‘win-win solution’ being lobbied by the trade and industry department to end the menace of contractualization besetting the country’s labor force, claiming that “it would only be a continuance of capitalists’ transgressions and systematic exploitation”.

They likewise challenged President Duterte’s sincerity in fulfilling his campaign promise to end temporary employment; the militants urged him stop his economic managers’ dead on their tracks in promoting their outright anti-labor proposal or suffer political isolation from those who propelled him to power.

The groups Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) ang MASO-Pilipinas made this allegation as they ‘gate-crashed’ the 6th annual forum of PALSCON or the Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors which was set to tackle their position on the proposal of the trade and labor departments.

Among the speakers of the forum included Senator Franklin Drilon, secretaries Ramon Lopez and Silvestre Bello III of the trade and labor departments.

Under Lopez’ proposed set-up, workers will be hired by the service providers and manpower agencies as regular employees, receiving various benefits such as leave credits, 13th month pay as well as retirement, social security and health insurance plans, among others.

The militants called the proposal “baseless and dismissive” of Article 280 of the Labor Code, which states that regular employees are those who perform “usually necessary or desirable” in the normal operations of a business.

“For more than two decades now, workers have been severely burdened by the wanton denial of our rights, forcibly shoving us further below poverty line. No amount sugar-coating from capitalist agents, will dupe us into taking their bait,” said Leody de Guzman, president of the socialist BMP.

The groups insisted the proposal would only mean that Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code and Department Order 18-A, “legal instruments used to circumvent constitutionally-guaranteed rights” shall remain intact.

De Guzman articulated that Articles 106 to 109 provided the loophole for capitalists in these trilateral agreements to use contractors and subcontractors that provide cheaper workers to carry out work that should be performed by their regular employees.

These provisions, he claimed, “were only meant to obfuscate employee-employer relationships. More so, it reinforces the capitalist blackmail of ‘work or starve’, under constant threat of unemployment by simply terminating their employment contracts”.

The groups say that there shall be no compromise in their call for the abolition of all forms of contractual employment and will continue to hound conferences of capitalists and anti-labor government officials.

Concretely, the groups are urging President Duterte to a) issue an Executive Order to declare DO18-A void and the revision of the BMBE law; b) certify as urgent congressional bills nullifying Articles 106 to 109 and the prohibition of contracting of ‘usually necessary or desirable’ work, pursuant to Article 280 of the Labor Code. The criminalization of labor-only contracting and deputize labor union leaders as labor inspectors to check and report violation of labor standards.

“It will simply take President Duterte an issuance of an Executive Order to scrap contractualization for good. To ordain such would lift millions of families from the yoke of dearth and misery,” de Guzman concluded.

A ringing endorsement of dictatorship

A ringing endorsement of dictatorship

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, a socialist labor group, joins Filipinos in denouncing the Supreme Court’s decision to authorize President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to bury the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.



Ferdinand Marcos is no hero: He was responsible for killing and torturing thousands of people—including many workers. He looted the public treasury. And he created the conditions that made the lives of millions of Filipinos miserable.

To bury him at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is to glorify rather than condemn mass murder, torture, and plunder.

Duterte’s determination to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is certainly payback for the Marcoses’ support for his candidacy. While he has so far failed to fulfill his campaign promises to workers, he has demonstrated a steely sense of purpose in fulfilling his promise to the Marcos family.

More than just repaying debts, however, Duterte’s determination to glorify Marcos is also an expression of his support for dictatorship and his contempt for democratic rights. 

All previous regimes, and all those whose interests they protected, deserve part of the blame for making dictatorship seem to many like a better alternative than our current system.

The Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, GMA, and Aquino II administrations not only failed to deliver justice to Marcos’ victims; they also all failed to carry out the social reforms that would have prevented people from believing that a return to out-and-out authoritarianism can solve their problems. 

But let us not gloss over the fact that the Supreme Court would not have made the ignoble stand they made today if not for President Duterte’s insistence that a hated dictator be glorified as a hero.



Both President Duterte—as well as the nine Justices who voted in support of his plan—are spitting on the memory of all those who suffered during, and as a consequence of, the Marcos dictatorship.


They are also reinforcing the climate of impunity reigning in the country and emboldening ruling warlords and political dynasties to shun all democratic pretenses and rule with iron fists.

But even if they use the laws to deodorize and legitimize dictatorship, they will never succeed in turning a villain into a hero.



We call on all Filipinos to join us in denouncing this travesty of justice, and we support all protests and direct actions against the dictator’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Pagpupugay kay Ka Ronnie Luna

Pagpupugay kay Ka Ronnie Luna: Magiting na Organisador ng Pakikibaka ng Manggagawa

KUKULANGIN ang mga salita para ipahayag ang pagdadalamhati ng pamunuan at kasapian ng BMP sa paglisan ni kasamang Ka Ronnie Luna. Kapos din ang anumang letra para iparating sa kanyang mga naulila ang aming lubos na simpatya at pakikiramay. Kayo man ay naagawan ng tatay, tiyuhin, pinsan, o kabiyak sa kanyang biglaang pagpanaw. Kami rin – ang kilusang itinuring niyang “pangalawang pamilya” – ay nawalan ng isang magiting na lider, kaibigan, at kasama. 

Sa darating na mga araw, lubos na mararamdaman ng Bukluran, ng kabuuang kilusang paggawa, at pangkalahatang kilusang bayan – ang kawalan ng isang magiting, masigasig at mapangahas na organisador ng pakikibaka ng masang anakpawis. Ang buhay ni Ka Ronnie ay kasaysayan ng mga pakikibaka sa iba’t ibang antas – mula sa pabrika, rehiyon, pambansa, maging sa kanyang komunidad sa Sitio Malipay, kung saan siya huling nanirahan.

Mula sa Samar tungo sa Maynila. Nagmula si Ka Ronnie sa isang mahirap na pamilya sa Northern Samar. Isinilang noong Disyembre 1, 1958. Dahil sa hirap ng buhay, napagtapos lamang siya ng Grade 4. Isang bagay na kamanghamangha. Sapagkat sa darating na mga panahon, siya ay papandayin ng kilusan para sa isang bihasang tactician ng mga lokal na pakikibaka, laluna ng mga ligal at ekstra-ligal na pakikibakang unyon kaya’t madalas siyang akalain bilang isang abogado. 

Edad labing-anim nang siya’y magtrabaho sa isang trosohan. At sa unang bahagi ng dekada ’70, sa paghahangad ng mas maayos na buhay, ay palihim na umangkas sa barko at lumuwas ng Maynila para maghanap ng trabaho. Palipat-lipat na namamasukan bago naempleyo sa Philippine Blooming Mills o PBM – isa sa pinakamalaking pabrika ng bakal sa buong Asya noong panahong iyon. Ang PBM, na may 2,000 manggagawa, ay naging bukal ng maraming kadre’t kasapi ng kilusang anti-diktadura. Dito nabuo ang unyon na isa sa naging kasaping tagapagtatag ng Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), kung saan si Ka Ronnie ay naging chief shop steward. 

Sa pamamagitan ng pag-uunyon, napanday siya sa bisa ng sama-samang pagkilos sa pagmumulat at pag-oorganisa ng manggagawa. Nang magsara ang PBM noong 1980 (hindi dahil sa labor dispute kundi sa internal na problema ng kompanya), nanatili ang kanyang pagiging aktibista at nagpasyang magpultaym sa kilusan – mula noong hanggang sa kanyang pagpanaw, nanatili ang kanyang tuloy-tuloy na pagkilos sa hanay ng masang anakpawis. Sa panahong ito, kahit sa kawalan ng regular na hanapbuhay, ginawa ni Ka Ronnie ang pagbebenta ng puto kasabay ng pamamahagi ng mga polyeto.

Welga sa Fortune Tobacco. Sa unang mga taon ng dekada 80, si Ka Ronnie ay naging bahagi ng grupo para organisahin ang Fortune Tobacco, na noo’y may 4,000 manggagawa. Sa tuloy-tuloy na pag-oorganisa, nagawang agawin ang unyon mula sa mga “dilawan” at maka-management na pamunuan. Disyembre 1984 nang magtagumpay ang “tunay na unyonismo” sa naturang pabrika, naagaw ang pamunuan. Agad nilang paghandaan ang laban para sa collective bargaining agreement (CBA) na magsisimula sa Oktubre 1985. Inilarga nila ang malawakang pagpapaaral ng GTU (Genuine Trade Unionism course), PAMA (Panimulang Aralin ng Manggagawa). 

Sinimulan din ang iba’t ibang porma ng sama-samang pagkilos sa loob at labas ng kumpanya. Bilang ganting reaksyon kinasuhan ng management ang mga opisyales ng unyon. Sinulsulan din nila ang pagbubuo ng bagong unyong lalaban sa certification election habang sapilitang pinagreresign ang mga manggagawa sa Plant C/D at Redrying, na diumano’y ibebenta sa Trans Union Corporation at Premium Tobacco. Sa pamumuno ni Ka Ronnie at iba pang mga kasama, nagpasya silang paigtingin ang mga pagkilos dahil sa tangkang pagdurog sa unyon (union busting). Oktubre 17 hanggang 20, pumutok ang welga. Pinagharap ng Ministry on Labor and Employment (MOLE) ang dalawang panig. Kung saan, nagpakaisahang mag-“back to work” ang mga empleyado nang walang ganti ang management. Lumakas ang kumpanyansa ng manggagawa sa sama-samang pagkilos. 

Nagsimula ang negosasyon para sa collective bargaining agreement (CBA) noong Nobyembre. Gumanti ang kapitalista sa pagsuspinde, noong nakaraang buwan ay kaso lang, sa 52 opisyales ng unyon dahil sa “illegal strike” noong Oktubre. Sinundan ito ng pagtatanggal sa mahigit isang daan (125) pang mga aktibong kasapi noong Disyembre. Sinagot itong muli ng welga. Nagpasya ang pamunuan ng KMU na i-angat ang laban bilang “rehiyonal na pakikibaka”, kasabay ng iba’t ibang mga welga tulad ng Cosmos sa Valenzuela. Sa naganap na negosasyon noong Disyembre 1985, umatras ang management para ibalik ang 125 na kasapi ngunit mananatiling tanggal ang 52 lider. Pumalag ang unyon. 

Subalit matapos ang dalawang buwan sa piketlayn, nakaranas na ng demoralisasyon ang mga welgista. Naagaw kasi ng pinagsamang pwersa ng management, eskirol, at pulisya (PC-INP) ang dalawang istratehikong piketlayn (Plant A at Trans Union). Nahahati na ang pwersa sa pagitan ng Fortune Tobacco Labor Union (FTLU) at Fortune Tobacco Independent Workers Union (FTIWU). Pebrero nang pumasok sa kompromiso ang unyon. Subalit tiniyak na kilalanin ng management ang “caretaker committee” ng unyon – pitong kasapi mula sa FTLU at FTIWU, sa pamumuno ng pederasyong NAFLU – upang hindi madurog ang pagkakaorganisa ng manggagawa. Ang panukalang ito ay inihapag ni Ka Lando Olalia ng pederasyon. Si Renato Magtubo ang tumayong pinuno ng naturang komite. 

Ang welga sa Fortune ang isa sa mayor na pangyayaring lumikha ng isang Ka Ronnie Luna. Dito siya natuto – hindi lamang sa bisa ng kolektibong pakikibaka kundi maging sa mga taktikang kaakibat nito kapag hindi na pumapabor ang kalagayan, gaya ng kompromiso, pag-atras, pagpihit, atbp. Ang mga aral sa pakikibakang ito ang tatanganan niya sa pamumuno ng iba’t ibang laban ng manggagawa na kanyang oorganisahin.

Organisador ng Manggagawa at Mamamayan. Matapos ang kanyang karanasan sa welga ng Fortune, bumigat ang responsibilidad na inaatang kay Ka Ronnie at siya ay naitakdang maging susing organisador sa Marikina, Mandaluyong at San Juan. Tinutukan niya ang mga unyonista ng Nissan Mandaluyong, Benguet Management Corporation, at iba pang mga empresa. Sa Marikina naman, naging instrumental ang papel ni Ka Ronnie sa konsolidasyon ng mga unyon sa ARMSCOR, Manila Bay Spinning Mills, Goya, atbp. 

Sa lahat ng nadapuan ni Ka Ronnie, umiigting ang labanan ng mga uri. Inaangat niya ang mga porma ng sama-samang pagkilos – hanggang sa humantong ito sa welga, ang pinakamatalas na sandata ng manggagawa sa pang-ekonomikong pakikibaka. Sa mga pakikibakang ito, napanday ang isang Ka Ronnie. Hindi umasa sa mga pederasyon para sa mga ligal na tulong. Sa halip – sa kabila ng hindi pagtatapos ng elementarya – natutong aralin ang mga prosesong ligal. Batid niya kasing ang bisa ng mga polyeto’t pag-aaral sa pagmumulat ng manggagawa ay isandaang beses na tumitindi kung ang manggagawa ay lumalahok sa laban. 

Sapagkat ang tunggalian ay paaralan ng manggagawa, katulad niyang hinubog ng tunggalian ng ideya at sama-samang pagkilos. Ang kanyang pagkilos sa Marikina ay kinatampukan ng pagbubuo ng “Marikina People’s Council” o MPC, kung saan natipon ang mga demokratikong pwersa sa naturang munisipyo. Dahil dito, nagawa ng kilusan na makapagpaupo ng manggagawa ng Fortune Tobacco bilang konsehal ng pamahalaang lokal (Larry Punzalan). Napabilang din sa inisyatibang ito sina Bayani Fernando at Ome Candazo, na kinalauna’y naging mga opisyal ng gobyerno.

Lider ng Bukluran. Sa pagputok ng tunggalian sa loob ng kilusang Kaliwa sa bansa, tumindig si Ka Ronnie sa “bagong linya”. Itinakwil niya ang lumang linya ng pangmatagalang digmang bayan na umaasa sa magsasaka bilang pangunahing pwersa. Tumindig siya sa pamumuno ng manggagawa sa laban ng bayan upang magtuloy-tuloy ang pakikibaka ng masang anakpawis patungong sosyalismo. 

Taong 1995, nang siya ang naging pinuno sa elektoral na kampanya ni Sonny Rivera ng SANLAKAS sa pagkakongresista ng Pasig. Hinawakan niya ang ikalawang distrito nito. Taong 1996-1998, nang mapabilang siya sa tinaguriang “National Pool of Organizers” (NPO) ng BMP. Una niyang hinawakan ang teritoryo ng Bulacan, kung saan, pumutok ng kaliwa’t kanan ang mga pakikibaka – mula sa grievance hanggang sa welga – sa mga pabrika ng McRyan, Standard Aluminum, Banson Lumber, Ingasco, atbp. Kasama din siya sa pag-oorganisa ng Indophil (pabrika ng sinulid) sa Marilao, na may libo-libong mga manggagawa. Kinalauna’y tinagurian siyang “borderless” bilang organisador. Gamit ang tsapang “Office of the Secretary-General” at “Lagman Law Office”, hindi na nahahangganan ng isang munisipyo o probinsya ang kanyang pag-oorganisa. 

Mula sa paglilipat ng Pacific Glass (Paglamaco) sa San Juan tungo sa ARCYA Laguna hanggang sa pag-agaw ng unyon sa Novelty Philippines na nasa may 3,000 manggagawa at maging sa mga kagilagilalas na aksyon sa Hopewell sa Pagbilao, Quezon at Philippine Geothermal sa Tiwi, Albay. Masipag at walang kinakatakutan. Tumutubo saan man maitanim. ‘Yan ang naging marka ni Ka Ronnie bilang organisador. Taong 1999 nang mahalal siya bilang bahagi ng BMP Central Committee, kung saan, itinalaga siya upang maging organisador ng balangay nito sa Southern Tagalog. Naging tanyag, hindi lamang ang BMP kundi si Ka Ronnie, sa naturang erya. Kasabay ng pagtatayo noong ng mga export processing zones at mga technopark, sumabay din sa pag-oorganisa ang mga unyon at buklod ng BMP, laluna sa Laguna. 

Lumatag din ang impluwensya ng BMP sa pagkakabuo ng Kapatiran ng mga Pangulo ng Unyon (KPUP), kung saan naugnayan ang malalaking mga unyon gaya ng Alaska, Kimberly Clark, Anglo Watson, Unilonseal, atbp. Sa panahon ding ito, naging komon na pulang bandera ang BMP sa mga pabrikang nagpiket o nagwelga sa Calabarzon. Nabasag ang “no strike, no union” sa mga subdivision ng mga eksporter (welga sa GNF, Canlubang Spinning Mills, atbp). 

Hindi rin nakaligtas ang naglalakihang mga pader ng mga industriyal na erya sa mga panawagan at paninindigan ng BMP. Umabot ang saklaw ng pag-oorganisa – sa tulong ng mga kasamang ikinatuwang niya sa mga gawain – maging sa mga probinsyang karatig ng Laguna – hanggang sa Quezon (Peter Paul, mga subcon ng Gelmart, tricycle drivers ng POKTODA, atbp.), at Cavite (RIL, Berenguer Topacio, Lepanto Tiles, AA Ceramics, atbp.). 

Kaya naman, hindi nakapagtataka kung bakit sa mga panahon ng eleksyon (mula 1998 hanggang 2013), malaking porsyento ng boto sa mga partylist na sinuportahan ng BMP ay nagmumula sa Southern Tagalog, kahit tayo ay nagmula sa Maynila at maituturing na ‘dayo’ sa Calabarzon. Mula sa pagiging ordinaryong kagawad, si Ka Ronnie ay permanenteng nahahalal bilang kagawad ng BMP National Executive Committee noong 2001. 

Bilang bahagi ng pambansang organo, siya ay naging responsable sa iba’t ibang linya ng gawain – kahit ang kanyang ispesyalisasyon ay nasa lokal na pakikibakang masa at gawaing kampanya. Isang ganap na kumprehensibong kadre. Nagsusulat. Nagtatalakay. Nagtatalumpati. Nagbabalangkas ng plano – sa kabuuan at sa pakikibakang lokal. Nangangasiwa ng mga gawain. Nagmomobilisa sa mga pagkilos. Naghahain ng mga petisyon sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno. Nag-aalaga ng ugnay sa mga opisyal ng DOLE, simbahang katolika, at iba pang institusyon. Nagpapatupad ng mga panalong desisyon sa kaso. Isang libo’t isang gawain ang kinayang gawin ng kasamang walang tigil sa pagpapaunlad at paghuhubog sa sarili para maging mahusay na unyonista, sosyalista at rebolusyonaryo. Kahit sa huling yugto ng kanyang buhay, mula sa pakikibakang pang-unyon ay nagsisimula na siyang aralin at kabisaduhin ang pakikibaka sa lupa ng mga maralita nang pamunuan niya ang laban ng mamamayan sa Sitio Malipay sa Bacoor, Cavite.

Katangiang Mahirap Pantayan. Mabigat man sa atin ang tanggapin ang kanyang pagpanaw, hayaan nating humimlay si Ka Ronnie para ganap nang makapagpahinga. Mamayapa ang katawang buong sipag at sigasig na inalay sa paglaya ng uring manggagawa at sambayanang Pilipino. Kung mayroon mang tunay na nakapanghihinayang, ito ay ang kanyang biglaang paglisan nang hindi natin nakuha – ng buong-buo mula sa kanya – ang kwento ng kanyang mga karanasan. Karanasang punong-puno na mga aral sa praktika ng pagsusulong ng rebolusyon. 

Kulang ang pagpupugay ngayon para kunin ang mga leksyon mula sa kanyang kakaibang paglilingkod sa kilusan ng masang anakpawis. Ganunpaman, sa ating pamamaalam, sumahin natin sa isang salita ang natatanging katangian ng magiting na organisador ng pakikibaka na si Ka Ronnie Luna. Walang iba ito kundi ang KAPANGAHASAN. 

Siya ang kasamang hindi magpapatinag kaninuman, sa anuman, at saan man. Kahit na anong balakid, suliranin o pagsubok ay kanyang hahanapan ng kalutasan. Masalimuot man ang nakitang solusyon, lahat ng ito ay handa niyang suungin – kahit maisakripisyo pa ang kanyang sarili – kung ang magiging resulta (gaano man kaliit ang posibilidad ng kongkretong ganansya) ay ang pagkamulat at pagkakaorganisa ng pakikibaka ng manggagawa, ang uring tutubos sa atin sa sumpa ng kahirapan at pagsasamantala. 

Ang totoong pagpupugay kay Ka Ronnie ay hindi pa ang pagbibigay-puri sa kanyang mga ginawa kundi ang matularan – laluna ang kanyang kapangahasan – ng sinumang nagnanais na baguhin ang umiiral na kabulukan. Sa ganitong paraan, ihihimlay natin ang kanyang pisikal na katawan ngunit mananatili siyang buhay sa ating puso’t isipan para palakasin muli ang kilusang paggawa at kilusang sosyalista sa bansa. Mabuhay ang mapangahas na diwa ni Ka Ronnie Luna! Mabuhay ang mapagpalayang kilusan ng uring manggagawa!

Duterte’s defense of cop who rammed protesters itself an act of violence against the people

Duterte’s defense of cop who rammed protesters itself an act of violence against the people

This week, we watched with horror as a police officer repeatedly and brazenly rammed scores of protesters in broad daylight in front of hundreds of people. We gasped at the sight of men lying under a police van, about to be run over. We witnessed how heavily-armed cops truncheoned water-cannoned, and beat up protesters It was the most violent dispersals we have seen in years.

The least that the President could have said was:

“I extend my solidarity to all those who were hurt. I strongly denounce the violence committed by the police. What they did was will not be tolerated under this government. I reprimand and I will move to file charges against the police officers who—as numerous video reports clearly showed—used disproportionate force against the protesters and violated their right to protest.”

Instead, after two days of silence while the rest of us boiled with anger and demanded justice, the President has instead chosen to act as a lawyer for the police.

Instead of saying the only thing that must be said in the face of what happened—-i.e. that the violence was unacceptable—he instead echoed the line of those who have chosen to justify the cop’s unjustifiable actions. More than that, he even invited the cop to Malacanang “for coffee.”

We at the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino are not entirely surprised by this response: This, after all, is the same President who has repeatedly said that he will protect and pardon any cop accused of committing human rights violations, who has said that he is “happy to slaughter” more than 3,000 criminals, and who wants to bury Marcos—the dictator who ran over the lives of thousands—as a “hero.”

But, while not surprising, his response is still shocking and unacceptable. By choosing to lawyer for the cops and refusing to condemn their blatant abuse of power, Duterte is in effect telling cops: “It’s OK to ram protesters. You will just be ‘investigated’ and invited to have coffee with the President. And he is in effect telling us: “Don’t count on the police not to run you over in case you decide to fight for your rights.”

As commander-in-chief, the President bears command-responsibility for the shocking violence that happened this week. He certainly did not create the climate of impunity that now reigns in our country. But by repeatedly shielding abusive cops and now refusing to condemn the shocking violence they had just committed, he has certainly further reinforced it—encouraging many other cops to think they really can get away with attempted murder.

We reiterate our demand for justice and we call for accountability—not just from the cops, but also from the President himself.

Labor warns Duterte of Rasputins in his cabinet

Labor warns Duterte of Rasputins in his cabinet

Socialist group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) expressed grave concern that several members of the cabinet are actively working against the fulfillment of the economic reforms vowed by President Rodrigo Duterte himself.

Days ago, the government’s so-called economic managers ganged-up and rejected the P125 national wage increase proposal, that according to them would push inflation rates to 9.7 percent and spike unemployment by 1.2 percent

The group identified Secretaries Ramon Lopez, Ernesto Pernia, Benjamin Diokno and Silvestre Bello of the trade, socioeconomic planning, budget, and labor departments respectively as ‘obstacles’ to the realization of the president’s wishes that the BMP said “could have made positive impacts in the lives of millions of ordinary folks”.

“The alter egos of the president in the economic cluster are clearly on the opposite side of their superior and the heavily taxed ordinary folks who pay for their salaries. The secretaries have been consistently active in countering measures that the president has explicitly declared. More importantly, they are not only defying the president’s orders but betraying the trust between him and the nation,” the group’s spokesperson, Attorney Luke Espiritu said.

Among the economic reforms that the secretaries have opposed despite the president’s open support, according to Espiritu is the abolition of all forms of contractual employment, the establishment of a national wage board, a substantial wage increase for the public and private sector as well as the ban on land conversion.

He also accused the cabinet officials of “poisoning the mind” of the president into withdrawing his promises and to fear mongering.

“If they are not fulfilling the wishes of the president or that of the taxpayers, then whose interests are they working for, Espiritu inquired.

BMP fears that other measures that will substantially raise the quality of life of millions living below the poverty line will receive the similar fate as the wage increase proposal.

He likewise reminded the officials that, “It is the overwhelming support of working class that catapulted Duterte to power for they believed that he can affect change they seek. This government must serve the interests of the many and not of the elite”.

“With the way things are going and not unless they are removed from their posts immediately”, Espiritu warned that the recently issued Executive Order No. 5, adopting the “Ambisyon 2040”, a long-term development plan aimed at tripling Filipinos’ per capita income to $11,000 in 24 years’ time “will remain to be a bureaucratic pipedream”.

“If the President really sides with the overburdened workers then he must on guard at all times from his subordinates and terminate them at the smallest infraction they commit,” Espiritu asserted.

The group, last week demanded the president to fire trade Secretary Lopez for his efforts to block the abolition of all forms of contractualization.#

President Duterte must condemn and punish cops who attacked protesters

President Duterte must condemn and punish cops who attacked protesters

We at the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino condemn the violent dispersal of the nonviolent protests of indigenous peoples belonging to the newly formed Sandugo alliance at the US embassy today and at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday.

Over fifty of our brothers and sisters were hurt when the police and the military used disproportionate force to break up their protest. Many were injured when a police vehicle repeatedly rammed the crowd of unarmed protesters.



This is shocking and unacceptable under any circumstances. But it is even more intolerable under a government that has promised to champion the rights of indigenous peoples and other oppressed classes, under a President who claims to be the first ‘leftist’ or ‘socialist’ President of the country.

As commander-in-chief of the country’s police and military, President Rodrigo Duterte has command responsibility over the state’s repressive forces. As such, he too is ultimately responsible for these forces’ actions.

To prove that he is committed to upholding our freedom to assemble and protest and to demonstrate that he supports our indigenous sisters’ and brothers’ struggle for their rights, he must immediately and publicly castigate the military and police officials responsible for this crackdown.

At the very least, he must immediately order disciplinary actions against—and if need be fire—Franklin Kho, the driver of the police vehicle that rammed the group of protesters and Marcelino Pedrozo, the officer who ordered the violent dispersal.

Any hesitation or refusal on his part to strongly denounce this shocking use of force will only further intensify the reigning climate of impunity that he has further fanned with his repeated pronouncements that he will protect and pardon all police officers accused of human rights violations.



It is this climate of impunity that is already leading officers of the law to think they can get away with anything—even attempted murder in front of cameras.

The struggle of the indigenous peoples is inseparable from our struggle as workers. An attack on them is an attack on us all.

All Senators’ bills fail to challenge contractualization

All Senators’ bills fail to challenge contractualization

Below is the position paper on the Senate bills on contractualization and security of tenure of workers issued by the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino National Executive Committe on October 13, 2016:

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) welcomes various initiatives by lawmakers to address contractualization and other controversies regarding job security, in the form of legislative proposals to address a problem, which has long been branded by the organized labor movement as a scourge on labor rights and welfare.

But all the proposals, particularly Senate Bills 217 (Hontiveros), 174 (Aquino), 117 (Pimentel), 302 (Zubiri), 329 (Ejercito), 1061 (Poe), and 1116 (Villanueva), fail to address the legal basis for contractualization; no other than Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code, which pertains to contracting and subcontracting agreements.

As a workers’ organization, we are not composed of lawyers but of trade unionists who are day-to-day practitioners of laws on labor relations. But we all still know that provisions on job contracting undermine Article 280 of the said code, which states that regular employees are those who perform “usually necessary or desirable” in the normal operations of a business.

Articles 106 to 109 provides the loophole for the so-called “principals” in these trilateral agreements to use contractors and subcontractors that provide cheaper and more docile workers to carry out work that should be performed by their regular employees.

These provisions not only obfuscate employee-employer relationships. In the processes of union building, workers become victims of finger-pointing between principals and the labor agencies on who should negotiate with the newly-formed union regarding wages, benefits, and work conditions.

More so, these provisions reinforce the capitalist blackmail of “work or starve”, as the threat of unemployment constantly hovers, like Damocles’ sword, on contractual workers who could be fired anytime by simply terminating their employment contracts.

Contractualization, legalized by Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code, is tantamount to cheap and docile labor. It is a problem that affects millions, especially if we include the families who rely on casual workers for their daily sustenance and upkeep.

According to the May 2016 Labstat Updates of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), based on the 2013/2014 Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment, out of a total of 4.472 million workers in firms with twenty (20) or more employees, 1.336 million (29.87%) are non-regular workers. This data does not include those employed in small and micro establishments, which comprise more than 90% of employers in the country.

If the 1.336 million contractuals in large firms provide for the needs of a family of five, we have 6.68 million Filipinos who are affected by low wages and the lack of job security due to contractualization!

Hence, the BMP believes that only a bill that would  repeal Articles 106 to 109 and the prohibit  contracting of “usually necessary or desirable” work, pursuant to Article 280 of the Labor Code would actually begin to bring an end to contractualization. Employment of contractual labor, in order to depress wages and deny regular status to workers should be regarded as a criminal offense.

Such harsh penalties, as proposed, are guided by state policies enshrined in the Constitution. Labor, states Article 2, Section 18, is the “primary social economic force”. Because labor should enjoy primacy over non-human inputs in production and commerce, the charter orders the state to provide “FULL PROTECTION to labor” (Article 13, Section 3, emphasis ours).

The State should guarantee workers their immutable rights in the work place – a fitting tribute to their undervalued contribution to economic development. It is hence but appropriate to treat the deprivation of the workers’ due, their basic entitlements and social protection as criminal transgressions which must not be countenanced by the State.

Indeed, the State owes a ballooning social debt to workers who should, as a matter of Constitutional mandate, be entitled to living wage, participation in decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits, unhampered self-organization, among others.

Hence, the BMP challenges Congress to tread the right direction, consistent with this mandate, by plugging the legal loopholes that permit contractualization and the further detriment of labor rights and welfare.

Ending contractualization, which has been declared as a policy by no less than President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself, is a step in this rightful course.

End contractualization now!

Uphold the right of workers to security of tenure!