Senate bet wants repeal of automatic debt payments and strengthen ODA regulation

Press Release

28 March 2019

As “Best Defense” vs. “Onerous Chinese Debts”:

Senate bet wants repeal of automatic debt payments and strengthen ODA regulation

Manila, Philippines – Labor’s senatorial bet Leody De Guzman vowed to file a bill repealing the automatic appropriations act for debt payments if elected this May, insisting that “only loans transacted with due diligence, good faith, without a taint of corruption should be paid by taxpayer’s money.”

“Hindi makatarungan na parusahan ang mga susunod na henerasyon ng pagbayad sa mga utang na hindi naman lehitimo dahil lamang mas matimbang sa Pangulo ang mga bangkerong Tsino kaysa sa kapwa niya Filipino,” De Guzman said.

Section 26(B) of Book VI, Executive Order (EO) 292, or the “Revised Administrative Code of 1987”, states that principal and interest payments for government debts are automatically appropriated. The provision is copied from Section 31(B) of Presidential Decree (PD) 1177 or the “Budget Reform Decree of 1977” which also serves as the legal basis for Section 26(B).

De Guzman explained that repealing Section 26(B) of EO 292 and Section 31(B) of PD 1177 would “act as a deterrent to unscrupulous creditor countries who might want to exploit corrupt administrations.”

“One of my first bills would be to replace automatic debt payments with automatic audit of loan agreements involving stakeholders, the economic team of Congress, third party accountants, and civil society,” he pronounced.

“Automatic appropriations is debt servicing, it clips the power of the purse of the legislative branch. I challenge all senatoriables to take a position on this, unless they are unwitting accomplices of Duterte's treasonous betrayal to China,” he posed.

Senate Audit of China Loans

The lone senate bet of Partido Lakas ng Masa also asked the sitting Senate to “immediately commence a review of all the China loans transacted by the Department of Finance”, including but not limited to the Chico River deal.

“I recall that the first budget signed by (President Rodrigo) Duterte for 2017 contains a special provision calling for an audit of specific debts. The Congress and Senate would do well to include such provision in the 2020 budget,” De Guzman said.

De Guzman warns the administration to “learn from the mistakes” of former President and now House Speaker Gloria Arroyo, who was embroiled in controversies in the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) project, the $503-million North Luzon Railways Project Phase 1 and Phase 2 (Northrail), the $884-million South Luzon Railways Project Mainline (Southrail), and the $465-million Cyber Education Project (CEP).

“Duterte’s designs will be foiled by the people, in the same way Arroyo’s designs were thwarted before,” he insisted.

Strengthening ODA Regulations

De Guzman adds that it is “not enough” for existing debts to be audited; the next Congress should also move to “clip” and regulate the President’s power to contract Official Development Assistance.

“Part of my proposal would include revisions in Republic Act 8182. Specifically, I would insist on a borrowings cap as well as restoring Section 11 of the original RA 8182, which was modified by RA 8555 to allow creditors to specify modes of procuring labor and other materials,” he cited.

The labor leader said that the practice of “tied aid”, wherein foreign workers and suppliers are tapped for foreign loan funded projects, should be replaced by “a system of preference and an obligation to transfer technology Filipino workers as well as competitive and transparent bidding among Filipino suppliers”.

“The Filipino people will pay for these loans. That being said, I see no reason why Filipino workers and businesses should not benefit from these loans.” De Guzman ended.###

Acierto revelation confirms Duterte proxy war on drugs – labor Senate bet

PRESS RELEASE

March 26, 2019

Partido Lakas ng Masa

Acierto revelation confirms Duterte proxy war on drugs – labor Senate bet

Senatorial candidate Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa today claimed that the critics of the the administration’s ‘war on drugs” have been vindicated following revelation made by former officer-in-charge of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Illegal Drugs, Group Colonel Eduardo Acierto that implicated Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang to the illegal narcotics trade.

He also called for the immediate termination of the administration’s ‘war on drugs’ after the president himself admitted that despite its brutality, the drug trade has worsened. He says it is also urgent to form an independent body to investigate the extent of the influence of Yang on the state sanctioned ‘war on drugs’.

De Guzman believes that Oplan Tokhang is contrived and elaborate scheme to eliminate the competition and monopolize the operations of the illegal drug trade. The expose, he adds, verified his contention that the administration’s ‘war on drugs’ was in reality, “a war on the poor”

“Tama ang hinala namin noon pa man. Sa simula pa lang ng Oplan Tokhang kapansin-pansin na marami sa mga biktima ay mga small-time pusher at courier. Kataka-takang wala kahit isang dayuhang drug lord ang tinutumba. Biniktima pa nila ang libo-libong mahihirap para magmukhang kapapaniwala ang kanilang gera kontra droga,” said the labor leader.

He says if Col. Asierto’s allegations are true, he finds it extremely alarming that a foreign national, with links to the ambassador of China and considered an economic adviser of the president can influence policies and programs of the government specially its anti-drugs campaign.

De Guzman alleges that, “The fact that the top brass of the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency were knowledgeable of the intelligence report of Col. Asierto, that Yang was operating shabu laboratories in Davao City as early as 2004 and did not act upon it shows that corruption and connivance has reached unprecedented levels”.

“Hindi na ako magugulat kung kasabwat si Pangulong Duterte sa buong iskema at kahit yung mismong kandidatura niya bilang pangulo ay dinesenyo para makontrol ni Yang ang drug trade. Mula Day One wala siyang bukambibig kundi pagpuksa sa droga. Napaniwala niyang ang marami na sinsero siya sa kanyang laban sa droga, ayun pala ay para lang kay Yang,” he deduced.

The labor leader predicts that Asierto’s expose is the “beginning of the end of the Duterte administration”. De Guzman adds that it will now be a challenge for everyone to make the president and his accomplices accountable for the tens of thousands who have fallen victim to their proxy war.###

Senate bet calls for the resignation of MWSS admin

PRESS RELEASE

March 25, 2019

Senate bet calls for the resignation of MWSS admin

Senatorial candidate Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) today called for the immediate resignation of the entire Board of Trustees of the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for their failure to fulfill their mandate of ensuring uninterrupted and adequate supply and distribution of potable water.

The labor leader said that the MWSS board led by Franklin Demonteverde must have the delicadeza to step down from office and not await for the Executive branch to remove them from office.

The MWSS board, de Guzman said, “are accountable for the water shortage that hit millions of households.Their disservice is unacceptable. The public outrage generated by their incompetence should be enough reason for them to submit their irrevocable resignation at once”.

The labor leader also noted that even the composition of the Board of Trustees is not in accordance with Republic Act 6234. The law requires the MWSS board to possess specific qualifications including a duly licensed professional of recognized competence in civil engineering and/or sanitary engineering, business management and finance, and law, or recognized labor leader within the ranks.

Six of the nine members of the board are lawyers, two former police generals including Reynaldo Velasco, administrator and vice chairman of the board and a chemical engineer.

“No small wonder that it took them several weeks in order to address the water crisis and did not prepare for such an eventuality,” he said.

The same sentiment was echoed by Sonny Melencio, PLM chairperson. “It only goes on to show that political appointees are not placed for their qualifications and competence but as rewards for their loyalties to the president,” he said.

“Water is life and must be held as a top priority of the government. This kind of ineptitude and recklessness is not worthy of our taxes. The people are already overtaxed and are deserving of better services”.

PLM is campaigning for the reversal of the policies of privatization and deregulation of water and power utilities. It says that utilities are vital to the people and must be publicly owned and democratically managed.

“Sobra-sobra na ang dalawampu’t dalawang taon para husgahan ng taumbayan na palpak ang pribatisasyon ng MWSS. Dapat ibalik bilang serbisyo ng gobyerno sa mamamayan at hindi pagpyestahan ng mga negosyante,” De Guzman concluded.###

Worker senatoriable hits proposal to regulate social media, says poverty is breeding ground for fake news outlets

PRESS RELEASE

March 22, 2019

Worker senatoriable hits proposal to regulate social media, says poverty is breeding ground for fake news outlets

Worker senatorial candidate Leody de Guzman of the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) criticized Vice-President Leni Robredo’s proposal of having a law regulating the use of social media in light of the spread of fake news and troll accounts during election season.

According to de Guzman, a veteran labor leader and human rights advocate said, “It appears that the Vice President must be reminded that the Constitution says that no law should abridge the exercise of free speech”.

“Sa panahong nahahati na ang mamamayan sa pagitan ng mga nagsasamantala at pinagsasamantalahan, anumang pagtatangka na busalan ang publiko ay pagpabor sa interes ng iilang nang-aapi. More than ever, we should uphold and promote the right to freedom of expression,” he added.

“Unwittingly, her proposal is as draconian as the fascist regime that she has openly condemned and criticized. It is a suggestion that, if passed, will lead to censorship of criticism, exposes, and progressive ideas,” the PLM leader added.

De Guzman suggested, “Kaysa gumawa ng bagong batas, na naglalagay sa peligro sa karapatan sa malayang pamamahayaga, maari namang ipatupad Article 154 ng Revised Penal Code, na nagpapataw ng parusa laban sa pagkakalat ng ‘pekeng balita’. In the said law, a person maybe fined up to P200,000 for publishing fake news”.

But the PLM senatorial bet added that the law against ‘fake news’ is “rendered ineffective by the poverty and desperation of the masses”. He explained, “As long as the masses are hungry, they would easily be employed as trolls by opportunist politicians and political operators”.

“Social media has given power to the people to create online content for massive distribution. It has overtaken traditional media, where content is controlled and influenced - at times, absolutely - by media moguls and corporate sponsors. Yet, social media has not reached its full potential as an avenue for the free and democratic expression of the majority,” Benjo Basas, a public school teacher and first nominee of PLM explained.

“To counter fake news, which is usually for the benefit of the exploiting few, the masses should be given access and opportunity to have their voices heard,” Basas furthered.

The PLM is pushing for a legislative agenda that would give space to representatives of the people both in the state media and in social media, so that the populace could participate and influence the crafting of laws and policies even after elections. “Because above all else, democracy is nothing but majority rule”. ###

Urgent gov’t action needed to protect Filipino seafarers - Labor senate bet

PRESS RELEASE

21 March 2019

Urgent gov’t action needed to protect Filipino seafarers - Labor senate bet

Partido Lakas ng Masa sole senatorial bet and labor leader Ka Leody de Guzman called on the Duterte administration for urgent action to protect the jobs and welfare of Filipino seafarers as they are quickly losing their preferential status in the global labor market.

The veteran labor leader expressed this alarm after the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) failed to comply by global industry standards set by the International Maritime Organization.

De Guzman said the issue of Filipino welfare is personal for him since his youngest son is a seafarer boarding international routes. He said, "Napakaraming pamilya ang umaasa sa mga seafarer. Marami sa kanila ang sumuporta sa kanilang mga kamag-anak na sumampa ng barko - kahit nababahala sa magiging pagkawalay. Hindi lang dahil sa mas mataas na kikitain sa pagbabarko kundi dahil sa panatag sila na respetado at mapagkakatiwalaan ang mga marinong Pilipino".

The Filipino seafarers accounts for 30 percent of the world's seafaring population, according to data released by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) from 2016 to 2017. But they are quickly losing this dominant position.

De Guzman says the impact of the diqualification will severely impact the economy and their families. Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) revealed that there are about 378,072 seafarers in 2017 bringing in about $USD 6 billion in remittances.

The issue of non-compliance by Filipino seafarers to global standards is not new. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) last 2017 pointed to deficiencies in the Philippine maritime industry, particularly on maritime education, training and certification systems.

The PLM senatoriable stressed, "Epekto ng matinding kapayabaan ng gobyerno ang dahilan kung bakit may banta sa dominanteng posisyon natin sa global maritime industry. Hinayaan ng CHEd na lumaganap ang mga maritime school na naging 'diploma mill' ng mga gradweyt na bagsak sa pamantayan ng industriya. Ginatasan lamang nito ang mga pamilyang umaasang makasampa ng barko ang kanilang mga anak".

De Guzman himself is a graduate of a maritime school, the Philippine Maritime Institute (now PMI Colleges), one of the oldest maritime schools in the country.

"Sa usapin ng certification, tiyak tayong umiral ang perenyal na problema ng korapsyon. Nagkalat ang mga manning agencies na hindi nakasabay sa mga pagbabago sa pandaigdigang istandard. Kung paano sila nananatiling may sertipikasyon mula sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno ay isang milagrong may presyo", he emphasized.

The senatorial candidate is national chair of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP). He likewise called on labor groups that are active in organizing seafarers to close ranks and unite. "The AMOSUP (Associated Marine Officers' and Seamen's Union of the Philippines), PSU (Philippine Seafarers Union), and PTGWO (Philippine Trade and General Workers' Organization) should unite to ensure the welfare of Filipino seafarers in order to maintain their competitiveness in the global market". ###

Workers to Bubble Gang: Strikes are no joke

Press Release

15 March 2019

WORKERS TO BUBBLE GANG: STRIKES ARE NO JOKE

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and the Alyansa ng Progresibong Obrero ng Yin Gang Motorcycles (APOY) union denounced Saturday GMA 7’s weekly gag show Bubble Gang for its malicious portrayal of labor strikes on its March 15, 2019 episode.

The show ran several short skits portraying striking workers getting paid P100 each by the strike leader.

BMP chair and senatorial candidate Leody de Guzman condemned the portrayal as a “blatant lie by the producers of Bubble Gang.”

“Is this how GMA 7 and Bubble Gang view us workers? Are we a joke to them?” De Guzman questioned.

“Labor strikes are serious actions being waged by workers in order to compel companies to respect union rights and comply to labor standards. This is a right guaranteed by our Constitution and the Labor Code,” explained the labor candidate, who actively supported the struggle of GMA 7 contractual workers when they protested the network’s labor malpractices in 2015.

BMP national president Luke Espiritu explained that the exercise of the right to strike is a “huge sacrifice by the workers,” contrary to what Bubble Gang had wrongfully portrayed.

Speaking at the picketline in West Canumay, Valenzuela, he explained that during strikes, “workers have to temporarily leave their families, live in makeshift tents, sleep on concrete, endure insect bites and harsh elements, and under the permanent threat of violence by management’s strike breakers or the police.”

“Such sacrifice is not worth P100 each. The workers are fighting for are their regular jobs, decent wages and benefits, and recognition of their union. That is not worth P100!” Espiritu said.

Jeremy Carpe, president of APOY and a contractual worker in Yin Gang Motorcycles said that he feels offended by Bubble Gang’s portrayal of a strike and disclosed that the union even declined a separation package offered by management.

“Inoperan kami ng YGM ng malaki-laking separation pay para itigil na namin ang welga at umalis na kumpanya. Pero aanhin namin ang pera kung kontraktwal pa rin kami sa lillipatan namin? Aanhin namin ang pera kung sa mahal ng presyo ng bilihin ay mauubos din ito agad? Ang gusto namin ay regular na trabaho, sapat na benepisyo, at karapatang mag-unyon dahil regular ang aming pangangailangan sa araw-araw. Hindi kami humihingi ng limos,” Carpe said.

For his part, Sonny Melencio, chair of party-list group Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) said that TV networks such as GMA 7 are the ones that are “bayaran.”

“The capitalists of these networks, who insult workers as violent or paid hacks whenever they wage strikes, are the one who are bayaran. They earn millions from trapo politicians who buy airtime and they even sell their TV programs by the millions of pesos to portray corrupt politicians as heroes,” Melencio said.

De Guzman says he finds it despicable that mass media instead of propagating the upholding of the peoples basic rights has done the opposite by propagating the culture of apathy and that principles can be bought.###


Reference: Luke Espiritu, BMP President, 0995 9729969

Finger-pointing officials frowned upon, fanning peoples’ frustrations – senate bet

Press Release

16 March 2019

Finger-pointing officials frowned upon, fanning peoples’ frustrations – senate bet

Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) senatorial bet Leody de Guzman called on both government officials and the management of water concessionaires to “cease from blaming each other and act as one” to address the water shortage that hit Metro Manila.

De Guzman also called on private, individual experts knowledgeable to what may have caused the problem to come forward and assist in the efforts to stabilize the supply of water.

“Water is life and all the finger-pointing and obvious lack of a concerted action between the companies, state agencies and technological experts will further bring chaos,” said De Guzman, leader of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino.

He adds that, “Charges and counter-charges are being thrown left and right by their spin doctors to salvage the reputations of those responsible to secure our water supply but not one has come forward to consolidate their efforts. Nahihilo na ang taumbayan sa kaka-spin nila, dino-doktor pa nila ang kanilang mga reports sa publiko”.

De Guzman claims that the real crisis that emerged is a crisis of response rooted in the lack of transparency and accountability and integrity.

“For the longest time, governments and the private sector involved in public utilities have kept people in the dark and the peoples’ right to access to basic necessities taken for granted and merely treated as clients. This has got to end, access to water is our unalienable right” he explained.

The senate bet of the Labor Win coalition is calling for the end of privatization and deregulation policies that led to the shortage and the succeeding failed responses by both government agencies and water concessionaires.

“The public is paying of their incompetence and if there is any truth to the allegations of mind conditioning to drum up support for the building of dams and reservoirs, they will not gain traction. Binding people to more private sector intrusion in essential services and more debt is what led us to this ‘crisis’ in the first place,” he expounded.

Government also culpable

Meanwhile, PLM chairperson and second nominee Sonny Melencio objected to a statement made by Undersecretary Benny Antiporda of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources fending of allegations that the administration is to blame for the crisis.

Firstly, Melencio said, “Usec. Antiporda seems to have believed their own propaganda that the private sector is competent enough to manage the necessities of the people and are now calling the concessionaires incompetent. The myth of private sector competence is now busted”.

“More importantly, this overreliance of the government for concessionaires to deliver basic human necessities is the bedrock of the crisis we face,” he adds.

He says despite the weak El Nino, “The water shortage crisis is man-made and can easily be corrected if we move towards regaining public ownership of the utilities. Privatization is a bane to the public. The government cannot delegate its mandate to work for the interests of the people to private entities”.

PLM is campaigning for all public services to be publicly owned and democratically controlled.

“If only Duterte governed in the way the people expect him to do so and terminate wasting time with his callous tirades against priests, women and the human rights community, he could have averted this crisis. Bottom line is, Duterte is as incompetent and accountable to the public,” Melencio alleged.###