Ang Manggagawa - ni Lorena "Ohyie" Purificacion

ANG MANGGAGAWA

ni Lorena Purificacion

Sana ay hindi limot ng manggagawa

na ang lakas ng kanyang bisig..

na ang kanyang mapanlikhang kamay,,

na ang kanyang mapagmahal na puso..

na ang kanyang matalas na isip..

ang dahilan bakit may mga nagtatayugan na mga gusali..

magagarang nga damit..pagkain..

at lahat ng tinatamasang luho at karangyaan sa buhay ng iilan..

Sana ay makilala ng manggagawa ang kanyan sarili..

hindi lamang bilang sahuran..kundi bilang isang uri..

na maghahangad na makamit ang malayang daigdig..

walang nagsasamanta at nang-aapi..

Mangagawa!! ikaw ang maglalagot ng tanikala..

sa isang rebolusyon..ang tagumpay nasa iyong mga kamay..

MABUHAY KA!!

Mayo 1, 2013

 Si Lorena "Ohyie" Purificacion ay isang manunulat, makata, at lider-manggagawa. Dati siyang pangulo ng unyon ng mga manggagawa ng Noritake sa Marikina.

Mayo Uno polyeto - anti-kontraktwalisasyon

KONTRAKTUWALISASYON - Tama na! Sobra na!

TRABAHONG REGULAR SA LAHAT NG NAGPAPAGAL, IPINAGLALABAN NG SANLAKAS PARTY-LIST!

Isang malaking kaipokritohan ang sabihing ang mga manggagawa ang gulugod ng ekonomiya ng bansa kung wala namang pakialam ang pamahalaan upang maibsan ang kahirapan at kaapihang ating dinaranas resulta ng kontraktuwal na pag-eempleyo. Isang kahungkagan ang ipagyabang na sa ngayo’y may walang-katulad na pang-ekonomikong pag-unlad ang naranasan ng Pilipinas kung patuloy na nagtitiis ang mga manggagawa sa kakarampot na suweldo, walang benepisyo, walang katiyakan sa trabaho at kawalang karapatan. Kung mayroon mang kaunlaran o kasaganaan, ito ay hindi para sa ating nakararami kungdi sa iilang bilyonaryong nagpapasasa sa ating murang lakas-paggawa.  

Sa bawat Mayo Uno, Pandaigdigang Araw ng Paggawa o Labor Day - asahan nang marinig sa gobyerno at sa mga kandidatong ahente  ng mga kapitalista ang mga papuring ipupukol sa diumano’y kabayanihan ng  mga manggagawang Pilipino. Mga talumpati at pahayag na walang laman kundi mga kabalbalan, pambobola at mga pantastikong pangako ng kaunlaran. Isang araw na pupurihin pero buong taong bababuyin.  

Sino sa gobyerno at sa mga kandidatong trapo ang aamin na ang kanilang iniyayabang na kaunlaran ay resulta ng pagpapakasakit ng mga manggagawang kontraktuwal at hindi ng limpak-limpak na salaping ginagamit bilang kapital? Sino ang kikilala sa manggagawa sa tunay na kahulugan ng salitang pagkilala na walang silbi ang pera ng kapitalista kung hindi ito lalapatan ng lakas paggawa ng mga manggagawa? Sino ang gagawa ng mga polisiya upang ang buong pang-ekonomikong programa ng pamahalaan ay maglingkod sa interes ng mga tunay na bayani ng bayan?  

Kung gagamitin ng mga trapo at mga bogus na party-lists bilang entablado ang buwan ng Mayo upang ungguyin ulit tayo, gamitin naman natin ang mapanuring katangian ng mga manggagawa upang piliin kung sino ang nagsasabi ng totoo at tunay na magtataguyod ng interes  ng pinaka-api at pinakamaraming kontraktuwal na manggagawa sa bansa. 

Ang SANLAKAS ay party-list na may mahabang track record sa pagsusulong ng interes ng manggagawang Pilipino. Sa katunayan, sa kauna-unahang party-list election noong 1998 ay tatlong (3) Presidente ng unyon ang kanyang mga nominado. Kinikilala ng SANLAKAS ang tunay na halaga at papel ng manggagawa para sa pang-ekonomiko at pampulitikang pag-unlad ng buong sambayanan. Alam ng SANLAKAS na walang ibang uri ang pwedeng gumampan ng tungkuling nabanggit upang wakasan ang kahirapan at kaapihan ng mga manggagawa sa yugtong ito ng pamamayagpag ng labor flexibility schemes sa anyo ng kontraktuwalisasyon. 

Kailangan nating mga manggagawa ang SANLAKAS sa Kongreso at kailangan tayong mga manggagawa ng SANLAKAS upang ilaban ang ating interes bilang uri, maghalo man ang balat-sa-tinalupan sa Kongreso man o sa lansangan.   Kung nais nating magkaroon ng tinig, tindig at kisig ang ating paglaban sa kontraktuwal na pag-eempleyo at sa lahat ng klase ng pang-aapi sa manggagawang Pilipino, iluklok natin ang tatlong (3) Kongresista sa bulwagan ng Kongreso mula sa hanay ng mga manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng SANLAKAS. Iboto at ikampanya natin ang SANLAKAS upang bigyan ng lakas ang ating laban para sa pagkakaroon ng trabahong disente at regular sa lahat ng Pilipinong nagpapagal!

Panayam kay Ka Romy Castillo, Koop Obrero, 1994

Panayam ng KOOP OBRERO kay Romy Castillo, Tagapangulo ng Bukluran ng Manggagawa para sa Pagbabago (BMP)


pahina 6 - 10 ng pahayagang KOOP OBRERO (Enero-Hunyo 1994)

PAHINA 6

PAHINA 7

PAHINA 8

PAHINA 9

PAHINA 10

Noynoy, Dont be a Grinch! Hands off the Sin Tax Bill!

PRESS RELEASE

13 December 2012

Gie Relova 

BMP-NCRR Secretary-General

0915-2792749

Militants' Christmas message to the President

Noynoy, Dont be a Grinch! Hands off the Sin Tax Bill!

MORE than three thousand protestors belonging to the anti-Sin Tax alliance, the Peoples Coalition Against Regressive Taxation spent the whole day at the Mendiola bridge urging President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino to veto the sin tax bill and prevent the catastrophic economic effects of his signing into law of the sin tax bill.

The militant group also criticized the recently approved provisions by the Bicameral Committee Meeting for its abandonment of the safety nets meant to cushion to the impacts of the sin tax bill which will critically affect the jobs and livelihoods of those relying on the sin products. 

In a statement, PCART insisted that the Aquino government is very much aware that a vicious institutional injustice is about to be committed against millions of Filipino workers, farmers, vendors and sari-sari store owners once the Sin Tax Bill is finally enacted but the President still pushed through with the IMF-dictated tax measure.

According to Gie Relova, Secretary-General of the militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino-National Capital Region-Rizal chapter, "Aquino did not only intentionally hand out the death warrants of our jobs and livelihoods, but also sent the dreams and ambitions of our children to the gallows. He had every reason to veto the sin tax bill and make Christmas celebration of our children turn from glum to merry but more importantly, he has to veto it before the economy turns from ugly to uglier".

“Totally unacceptable!” this was the reaction of Anthony Barnedo, National Capital Region-Rizal Secretary-General of the urban poor federation Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralita ng Lungsod (KPML-NCRR). 

“If the Sin Tax Bill is Aquino’s idea of a perfect Christmas, then his Daang Matuwid is a complete sham. If a regime that legalizes contractual labor, privatizes public hospitals, abandons the right the right to education, demolishes communities without a habitable relocation sites and now suppresses the way we make a living then logic dictates that the unbearable government such as Aquino’s is just as abusive and exploitative as its laws,” Barnedo added.

The coalition vowed to continue the struggle against an unjust and anti-poor decree such as Aquino’s regressive Sin Tax Law even during the electoral period wherein they are to launch a national negative campaign against those who supported the Malacanang-masterminded massacre of jobs and livelihoods.

"Beer is Thicker Than Water, While the Masses Suffer"

PRESS STATEMENT

11 December 2012

Gie Relova 

BMP-NCRR Secretary-General

0915-2792749

On the New Sin Tax Bicam Provisions

Militants Blame Aquino for Overkill and Accuse Him of Nepotism

SOME five thousand exasperated members of the anti-sin tax alliance Peoples Coalition Against Regressive Taxation or PCART assembled at Morayta and marched to the historic Mendiola Bridge brundishing a giant tarpaulin streamer bearing a "Beer is Thicker Than Water, While the Masses Suffer" slogan. The message was meant to expose President Benigno Aquino's partiality for his relatives' businesses at the expense of the masses in the sin tax debates. 

The militants took a swipe at the latest provisions agreed upon by the bicameral committee conference yesterday and blamed the maneuvers on Aquino for the latest alterations in the pending tax measure.

The militants howled in disbelief after learning that bicameral committee removed the provisions that were previously earmarked to the amount of one billion pesos as an unemployment insurance and a re-tooling livelihood program for displaced cigarette workers. The bicameral committee also removed the provision for earmarked for the benefit of the tobacco farmers.

According to Gie Relova, Secretary-General of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino-National Capital Region-Rizal chapter (BMP-NCRR), "The latest maneuvers by Malacanang is undoubtedly the most voracious and greediest act he has done since he came to power. Because of such manipulations, the workers and farmers have not only lost their jobs but end up empty-handed after Aquino shamelessly took every centavo meant to cushion the impacts of the recalibrated excise tax".

"It seemed unthinkable since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship that a single yet omnipotent government official could blatantly ram through all his avaricious impulses on the masses. With P-Noy at the helm of power and placing his weight on the legislative branch, he has vanquished every hope and sympathy our poor countrymen have for his leadership and his ridiculous Daang matuwid polemic. He has now leveled up to the ranks of Ferdinand Marcos, Norberto Manero, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other vile public figures in the history of our country" Relova added.

PCART also took notice and insisted that the agreed provisions were clearly favorable to the business interests of Danding Cojuangco, Aquino's favorite uncle. The militants classified the latest maneuvers of the Palace to enact a well-crafted Sin Tax Law according to their preferred mould as a scheme to legitimize corruption and nepotism.

The anti-sin tax alliance has consistently denounced the mafia-like operations of the government and the private corporations in the crafting of laws to conspire against the poor to squeeze from them the taxes the government drools for and the profits the corporations are dying to increase. 

"For as long as a regressive taxation is in place and a morally bankrupt and exploitative system is in the place, the workers and its allies shall rise against them" the BMP leader concluded.

Sinisi ng mga Militante si Aquino at Inakusahan ito ng Nepotismo

PRESS STATEMENT

11 Disyembre 2012

Gie Relova 

BMP-NCRR Secretary-General

0915-2792749

Hinggil sa mga Bagong Probisyon sa Sin Tax ng Bicam

Sinisi ng mga Militante si Aquino at Inakusahan ito ng Nepotismo

TINATAYANG nasa limang libong miyembro ng alyansang kontra sin tax na Peoples Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (PCART) ang nagtipon sa Morayta at nagmartsa sa makasaysayang Mendiola Bridge dala ang higanteng tarpaulin streamer na may nakasulat na "Beer is Thicker Than Water, While the Masses Suffer". Layon ng streamer na isiwalat na maka-isang panig si Pangulong Benigno Aquino III sa mga negosyo ng kanyang mga kamag-anak sa kabila ng dagdag kahirapan na papasanin ng masa dahil sa panukalang sin tax.

Pinuna ng mga militante ang mga probisyong napagkaisahan sa bicameral committee conference kahapon at isinisi ang naganap na maniobrahan sa pinakuhuling mga pagbabago sa panukalang batas kay Aquino.

Hindi makapaniwala ang mga manggagawa nang mabalitaan nilang inalis ng bicameral committee ang mga probisyong dati nang itinakda na nagkakahalaga sa isang bilyong piso bilang unemployment insurance at para sa pangkabuhayang pagsasanay ng mga manggagawang matatanggal sa trabaho. Inalis din ng bicameral committee ang probisyong nakatakda naman para sa benepisyo ng mga magbubukid ng tabako.

Ayon kay Gie Relova, Secretary-General ng Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino-National Capital Region-Rizal chapter (BMP-NCRR), "Ang pinakahuling pagmamaniobra ng Malacanang ay hindi maitatangging pinakasamasaklap at pinakasakim na ginawa nito mula nang mapuwesto ito sa kapangyarihan. Dahil sa mga manipulasyon ito, ang mga manggagawa't magsasaka ay hindi lamang nawalan ng trabaho kundi inalisan pa ng suporta matapos kamkamin ang lahat ng pondong itinakda para maibasan ang epekto sa kanila ng karagdagang buwis". 

"Parang ang hirap isipin na matapos bumagsak ng diktaduryang Marcos, may isa nanamang lubos na makapangyarihang opisyal na kapal-mukhang sinagasaan ang interes ng masa para sa kanyang pansariling pakinabang. At dahil sa nasa kapangyarihan si Aquino at nagawa niyang impluwensiyahan ang lehislatura, siya mismo ang bumisto sa kanyang sarili at sa pagka-bangkarote ng kanyang polemikang Daang Matuwid sa masa. Dahil dito, nabibilang na siya sa mga kagaya ni Ferdinand Marcos, Norberto Manero, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at iba pang kahiya-hiyang personahe sa kasaysayan ng bansa," dagdag pa ni Relova.

Iginiit pa ng PCART na ang nasabing probisyon ay malinaw na pumapabor sa interes ng negosyo ni Danding Cojuangco, ang paboritong tiyuhin ng Noynoy. Tinaguring isang iskema ng pagliligalisa ng korapsyon at nepotismo ang mga maniobra ng Palasyo na disenyuhan ang isang batas sa Sin Tax ayon sa kanilang napiling molde. 

Walang tigil na kinundena ng alyansa ang mala-sindikatong gawi ng gubyerno at mga pribadong korporasyon sa paglilikha ng batas para gipitin ang mga mahihirap para sa kanilang interes, buwis sa gubyerno at labis-labis na tubo para sa mga korporasyon.

"Hanggat nanatiling regresibo ang sistema ng pagbubuwis, korap at mapagsamantala ang sistemang pampulitika sa bansa, ang mga manggagawa't kanilang mga alyado ay siguradong magaalsa laban sa kanila" pagtatapos ng lider ng BMP. 

Miltants Slam the Bicam

PRESS STATEMENT

December 10, 2012

Gie Relova 

BMP-NCRR Secretary-General

0915-2792749

For Agreeing to a P35 Billion Revenue Target for 2013:

MILITANTS SLAM THE BICAM!

Five thousand workers, vendors, and informal settlers assembled at the grounds of Hotel Sofitel Grand at the CCP Complex carrying placards painted with "Tama na, Sobra na! Sistema ng Pagbubuwis, Palitan na!", P-Noy at Sin Tax, Pahirap sa Masa" and "Tax Revolt, Sagot sa Regressive Taxation!" slogans. The militants condemned the sin tax bicameral conference that agreed on the P35 billion target tax revenue of government for the year 2013 last Friday.

Gie Relova, Secretary-General of the militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino - National Capital Region-Rizal (BMP-NCRR), says "We condemn the bicameral conference committee to the highest degree. Passing the sin tax bill has been the solons’ most appalling act of disservice and treachery to the Filipino people. The 1987 Constitution specifically instructs the legislators to develop a progressive system of taxation; instead, these lawmakers prefer to exacerbate the already miserable lives of our countrymen with regressive taxes".

In spite of the militants disgust for the bicameral committee Relova was quick to add that, "the millions of workers and farmers nationwide reserve the strongest denunciation for President Noynoy Aquino for his puppetry to the prodding of international financing institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and a transnational corporation. The imperialist forces shall profit in trillions of pesos at the expense of our local industry without generating any employment”. 

The corporation the labor leader was referring to is the London-based multinational company British-American Tobacco (BAT) which re-entered the Philippine market after pulling out in 2009. The return of the BAT which produces the Lucky Strike brand will only dump surplus tobacco leaves in the country and will clearly benefit from a sin tax law designed to break the stranglehold on the market of a local company thereby increasing BAT's market share in the Philippines .

For Anthony Barnedo, Secretary-General of Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralita ng Lungsod - National Capital Region-Rizal (KPML-NCRR), a co-convener of the alliance Peoples Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (PCART), "the government claims to raise revenue from excise taxes but surely, they shall never be able to obtain their targets because of the high prices, no one will be able to afford sin products anymore, the industry is bound for doom". 

"Nor do we expect an enhanced public health program from the government even if they achieve their revenue targets. The Universal Healthcare Program of the regime shall remain a dream, ending in a nightmare once they commence privatizing the twenty-six public hospitals" the urban poor leader added.

"As we commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), our "honorable" senators and congressmen chose to observe this day with intentional and brutal violations to our right to work and protection against unemployment. With the imminent massacre of jobs and livelihoods, the system of taxation being laid down by the Aquino regime is clearly courting a social revolution they shall soon regret.” the BMP leader concluded.