BMP to DOH: Hire more nurses now or prepare body bags

Press Release

11 March 2020

BMP to DOH: Hire more nurses now or prepare body bags

Labor group pushes cutting health job mismatch to combat COVID-19

Labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) called on the Department of Health (DoH) to hire more nurses now amid the expected exponential increase of cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), adding that we have nursing graduates who are stuck in non-healthcare jobs.

“We call on Secretary Duque to propose emergency Congressional funding for personnel. This has to happen as early as this month. Pretty soon, the number of cases will overwhelm our fragile public health system, if we don’t mobilize enough people to attend to the sick,” said BMP Chairperson Leody de Guzman.

The labor leader cited a prediction by Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch that 40% to 70% of all people around the world will have contracted COVID-19 by the end of the year.

“Let’s say that 50% of all Filipinos will have COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 3.4% global death rate. This translates to around 1.8 million Filipinos dead, if our death rate is as bad as the global average,” De Guzman warned.

He added that WHO estimates 14% experienced severe disease and 5% were critically ill, translating to 7.7 million hospitalized and 2.7 million needing intensive care.

“How does DOH plan to attend to all of these? Given that the 2018 Labor Force Survey (LFS) only reports around 90,000 health professionals and 130,000 health associate professionals, there will be only 1 personnel for every 400-500 COVID-19 patients alone. We might as well prepare body bags,” De Guzman warned.

Attend Mismatch Now

De Guzman cited the 4th Graduate Tracer Study (GTS) from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) stating that while 21.6% of students surveyed took up nursing, only 52.8% of the nursing students were eventually matched to appropriate jobs.

Of those unmatched, 11% eventually worked as contact center information clerks, 8% went to retail and wholesale trade, and 9.7% either went on as general office clerks or cashier and ticket clerks.

“This is unacceptable. We badly need nurses to run our healthcare units, but our nursing graduates don’t end up in nursing jobs. Such a waste of tertiary education resources during a time of healthcare crisis!,” he said.

“The solution to the unemployment problem is in front of our faces the whole time. There are so many roles to be filled, and yet too many are unemployed. The state must transform these roles into decent paying public sector jobs, especially in critical services like healthcare,” De Guzman said.

The labor leader also appealed to young nurses aiming "to leave the country for greener pastures" to temporarily postpone their departure, arguing that their services are much needed here.

"It is tough times, we know, but I think it is better off for all of our families in the long run if they will stay here for now, and join the fight against COVID-19," De Guzman said.

The BMP leader appealed to the health department to fully implement the Supreme Court decision to peg government nurses’ to Salary Grade 15, following Section 32 of Republic Act 9173 or the Philippine Nurses Act.

“The Supreme Court can only interpret the law. The executive must propose an appropriate budget for nurses’ wage increase and Congress should approve it. The problem is that they keep on passing the buck to local government units, which does not have enough funds to pay their nurses,” De Guzman argued.

He said that the best way to encourage nurses to stay is by "paying them decent wages, commensurate to the risk they face everyday”.-30-

Contact person: Ka Leody de Guzman 0920-5200672

Joint Statement of Sanlakas, BMP and PLM on the ABS-CBN issue

Joint Statement of Sanlakas, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Partido Lakas ng Masa

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Partido lakas ng Masa and Sanlakas condemn the Duterte Government’s heavy-handed attempt to silence and shut down ABS-CBN.

This is the latest in a series of aggressive frontal attacks on media institutions to intimidate them into at the very least tamed reportage and at most, submission, eroding the people’s right to a free press. To date, 112 cases of attacks and threats have been documented under the Duterte Administration including at least 13 killings of journalists. The Philippines holds the record of among the world’s deadliest countries for media. That the attacks on media workers and institutions are increasing can only be attributed to the undeterred hostility of the Government towards media as highlighted by the moves to shut down ABS-CBN.

In plain view, the Duterte Government is cementing the path towards authoritarianism the hallmarks of which include media censorship. Shutting down ABS-CBN sends a chilling effect to all media institutions signaling an imminent scenario where socio-political realities of the day are defined by Malacanang’s propaganda gurus and spin doctors. Unlike Marcos who needed martial law to achieve this, Duterte is unleashing the entire might of the government - his supermajority in the House of Representatives, the Solicitor-General and his Supreme Court - towards this end.

In the process, 11,000 workers will be displaced. This could spell poverty and hunger to tens of thousands of Filipinos who rely on their breadwinner to ensure food on the table. In Duterte’s fascist arm-twisting of ABS-CBN fueled by his personal vendetta against the company, the workers and their families have been reduced to mere sacrificial lambs - the unavoidable collateral damage to the Government’s malevolent designs against media.

We lend our unconditional support to the struggle of ABS-CBN workers for continued and secure employment. This struggle for job security is intertwined with the defense of democratic rights as the threat of displacement comes from a regime that seeks to quell civil rights and political freedoms, not only in retaliation for the non-airing of Duterte's campaign ads in 2016 but also to prepare for its electoral plans in 2022.

It is in situations like these when the horrors of contractualization are brought to the fore. Thousands of contractual workers, in the event of ABS-CBN’s shutdown, will be booted out of work without the benefits enjoyed by their regular counterparts. We, thus, reiterate our call to regularize all workers, provide increase in wages and salaries, implement safe and humane conditions of work, and ensure the rights of workers to unionize and bargain collectively with the ABS-CBN employers.

It is worth noting that the Duterte cronies are salivating over the purchase of ABS-CBN and the equities of Lopez holdings, and with the House approval of total foreign ownership to "public service", including wire and wireless broadcast comminication, the stage is set for the total, unfettered, and open subjugation of mainstream media by foreign monopolies.

It is highly ironic that 34 years after the 1986 People Power that ousted a dictator, we are again up against an aspiring tyrant, who is in desperate attempt to have formal absolute power over the entire state apparatus. The little that was gained by a people's uprising that was hijacked by the anti-Marcos elite, is now being taken back by the Duterte regime. The sacrifice of the martyrs of the anti-dictatorship struggle will not be in vain. Onward with the struggle for democracy. Resist the attacks on press freedom. Uphold workers' rights. ###

Mensahe ng XDI sa ika-19 anibersaryo ng pagkapaslang kay Ka Popoy Lagman

MENSAHE NG EX-POLITICAL DETAINEES INITIATIVE (XDI)

Pebrero 6, 2020

MENSAHE NG XDI SA IKA-19 ANIBERSARYO

NG PAGKAPASLANG KAY KA POPOY LAGMAN

Kami, mula sa Ex-Political Detainees Initiative (XDI) ay taos kamaong nagpupugay kay Ka Popoy Lagman. Labinsiyam na taon na mula nang siya'y mapaslang at hanggang ngayon ay patuloy ang paghahanap ng katarungan.

Isa si Ka Popoy Lagman sa mga batikang lider na nakibaka upang palayain ang manggagawa sa kuko ng kapitalismo. Siya'y dakilang guro at lider-manggagawang nagpapatuloy ng pakikibaka sa tradisyon ng mga naunang lider-manggagawang namuno sa mga naganap, tulad ng Paris Commune at ng Rebolusyong Oktubre.

Si Ka Popoy ay isa ring XD o dating bilanggong pulitikal. Hinuli siya at nakulong noong Mayo 26, 1994, dalawang araw matapos ang isang rali sa Makati kung saan labingdalawang aktibista ang nahuli, at noong kasagsagan ng SLAM APEC Conference noong Nobyembre 1996. Siya'y isang masigasig na chairman ng Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) noong siya'y mapaslang noong Pebrero 6, 2001.

Muli, kami sa Ex-Political Detainees Initiative (XD) ay taas-kamaong nagpupugay sa magiting na lider na si Ka Popoy Lagman!

Hustisya para kay Ka Popoy Lagman at sa lahat ng mga dati at hanggang ngayon ay bilanggong pulitikal! Palayain ang lahat ng bilanggong pulitikal!


EDGAR DESACULA
Pangulo

EDWIN GUARIN
Ikalawang Pangulo

GREGORIO BITUIN JR.
Sekretaryo Heneral

JOVEN LIM
Ingatyaman

RONI DURAL
Auditor 

BMP Negros – Press Release: FREE COSMIC 10!

BMP Negros – Press Release

05 February 2020

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) Negros strongly denounces the violent course of action taken by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in dispersing the striking workers of Cosmic Enterprises, a company engaged in paper products.

Earlier this morning of 05 February 2020, the members of the Cosmic Enterprises Independent Labor Union (CEILU) who have been peacefully conducting their strike since 02 January 2020 were aggressively harassed by security guards and strikebreakers. The Police arrived during the midst of the commotion, but instead of resolving the conflict and acting as “agents of peace,” they aggravated the situation by dragging the strikers from the picket line and handling them roughly.

Their intervention resulted to the illegal arrest of 10 union members and labor organizers from the picket lines who are now being detained on fabricated charges.

This incident is a clear portrayal on how the Philippine National Police (PNP) exist to serve and protect the interests of the capitalists, despite that the majority of their workforce stemmed from the working class.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) Negros calls for the accountability of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for their violent course of action and for the immediate release of the illegally detained union members and labor organizers!

FREE COSMIC 10!

Gilbert Benlot

Hernani Abirina

Arrius Bocal

Dominic Dilao

Alvin Jimenez

Lorenzo de Vera

Chadli Sadorra

Rafael La Vina

Richard Christopher Kahulugan

Roy Bacalso

SAMUEL GAVORO

Chairman BMP Negros

RESPECT THE UNION!

#FreeCosmic10

#StandWithWorkers

Labor wants Electric Coop to handle NGCP Transfer Grid Control from Chinese State to Filipino workers, Senate told

Press Release

04 February 2020

Labor wants Electric Coop to handle NGCP

Transfer Grid Control from Chinese State to Filipino workers, Senate told

Workers group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) calls on Congress to transfer ownership of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from a consortium of Chinese and Filipino corporations to an electric cooperative "owned by consumers and managed by its workers".

This was following reports from a recent Senate investigation which revealed that the NGCP allowed Chinese nationals in the highest management positions, on top of the security problems surrounding the 40% ownership of grid utility by State Grid Corporation of China supposedly controlled by the Chinese government.

"We already have a workable model in the power industry - the electric cooperatives. Why not transfer the grid from the Chinese government to Filipino consumers and workers?," asked BMP President Luke Espirtu.

Espiritu noted that the "running" the power grid involves "technical problems like dispatch management on which Filipino engineers are already capable of, after doing so for decades before the privatization of power industry."

"Before the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the running of grid services area already performed by Filipinos under the National Power Corporation (NPC). The problem then was generation, not transmission," Espiritu insisted.

He proposed a model wherein NGCP will be controlled by a "cooperative of electric cooperatives", engaging the NGCP workers union on a management contract.

"This will, of course, require a legislative action to amend EPIRA. And this is where the Senate investigation should proceed," the labor leader said.

Espiritu argued that with a consumer-owned and worker-controlled electric coop model, "we will have no problems with technical audits, cybersecurity and foreign ownership".

The BMP leader conceded that reforms are likewise needed to further strengthen electric coops so as not to make it vulnerable to corporate takeovers.####

For more details, Luke Espiritu 0995 9729969

Rallyists call Cha-cha "the worst man-made calamity to hit the Filipino people"

PRESS RELEASE

January 21, 2020

Rallyists call Cha-cha "the worst man-made calamity to hit the Filipino people"

HUNDREDS of rallyists from labor groups and cause-oriented organizations welcomed the opening of the Lower House Monday with a rally against Charter Change, labeling it as the "worst man-made calamity to hit the Filipino people". Batasan is set to tackle House Concurrent Resolution No. 1, which was introduced by Cagayan de Oro 2nd district representative Cong. Rufus Rodriguez.

The said resolution would proposed major amendments to the 1987 Constitution, which includes the term extension of legislators and local officials, the reversal of the remaining protectionist economic provisions by mere legislation, and the increase of Senate membership from 24 to 27 representing 9 regions. The amendment to the composition of the Senate is a prelude to a federal form of government.

The rally was organized by labor coalition PAGGAWA or Pagkakakisa ng Uring Manggagawa, and was joined by contingents from Sanlakas and Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM).

Ka Leody de Guzman, spokesperson of the PAGGAWA labor coalition and chair of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino declared, "Kaninong kinatawan ang mga kongresistang ito, na habang abala ang taumbayan kung paano tutulungan ang mga nasalanta ng bulkang Taal ay inuna pa ang pansariling interes ng kanya-kanyang mga angkan?".

He adds that the congressmen do not represent the people, especially the toiling and impoverished majority. They represent the selfish interests of their own political clans. More so, they represent the interests of foreign capital that seeks to plunder our resource for super profit. This version of Cha-cha is the worst man-made calamity to hit the Filipino people.

"Imbes na unahin ang kapakanan ng libo-libong nasasalanta ng sakuna gaya ng pagpapataas sa calamity fund at muling pagpapagana sa Project NOAH, ang mauuna pa sa adyenda ng Batasan ay ang pagpapahaba ng termino para mas matagal nilang mapakinabangan ang kaban ng bayan. Ang lakas ng loob at kapal ng mukha! Our lawmakers have the gall to call themselves the representatives of the people even if all they think about is how to preserve the dominance of their families in their respective feifdoms," Ernie Arellano of the National Confederation of Labor (NCL) added.

PLM chair Sonny Melencio furthered, "What would happen if the Constitutional limits to foreign ownership are removed by regular legislation? First, it means that the highest law of the land was amended by a mere branch of government - without the convening of a constituent assembly or a constitutional convention and a national plebiscite to ratify proposed amendments to the charter. Second, and more importantly, it opens the doors for the wholesale national plunder of our resources by foreign monopoly capital. We might as well treat the Filipino people as 'bakwit' (or evacuatee) in a Philippines that would be fully owned by foreigners. This version of charter change by self-proclaimed legal scholar Cong. Rodriguez is truly a calamity Cha-Cha".

Activist lawyer and Sanlakas secretary-general Aaron Pedrosa concluded, "The 1987 Constitution is not perfect. It aimed for the Filipinization of the economy while blurring the distinction between rich and poor Filipinos, which is one of its chief defects. In doing so, it did not place a bar against the concentration of ownership of our natural and man-made resources in the hands of a few oligarchs".

"We want an economy that serves the interests of the people, especially the working and propertyless millions. It is a people-first, labor-first economy, which should be enshrined in the Constitution because the welfare of the people should be the supreme law. Yet, the Rodriguez proposal would aggravate the current defects of the existing Constitution, by allowing the monopoly of the local economy not just by Filipino billionaires but by global corporations whose sole interest is to extract billions of profit without regard to our ecological, environmental and human resources".

The groups vowed to hold more protests against Cha-cha in the coming weeks.###

For more details, please contact: Ka Leody de Guzman, PAGGAWA spokesperson @ 0920-5200672

Progressives to protest House manuevers to change charter

Media Advisory

19 January 2020

Progressives to protest House manuevers to change charter

As congressmen resume sessions after a month-long holiday break, they will be met with protests by progressive groups who oppose the proposal of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments to:

- ease restrictions on foreign investments by mere legislation

-tandem voting for the president and vice-president

-5-year terms for senators, congressmen and local executives with a maximum of 3 consecutive terms

-election of senators by region with 3 senators per region and the country divided into 9 regions

The group denounced the moves as "elitist and self-serving". They said Congress must prioritize the uplifting the conditions of Filipinos masses by addressing issues such as contractualization, high prices of basic goods, privatized utilities and overtaxation instead of the interests of foreign monopolies and.their domestic capitalist partners.

Labor coalition PAGGAWA or Pagkakakisa ng Uring Manggagawa will lead contingents belonging to Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Sanlakas and Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) at 1 pm tomorrow, January 20 at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Batasan Road before marching towards the South Wing Gate of the Batasan Pambansa Complex.

For more details, please contact:

Leody de Guzman, PAGGAWA spokesperson @ 0920-5200672