Dialogue and rally at Labor Department

Workers push for compliance of employers found guilty of labor-only contracting in DOLE inspections

MANILA. Some 100 members of the BMP Southern Tagalog chapter, along with leaders and supporters of the Dusit Thani supervisory union, will hold a rally in front of the DOLE offices in Intramuros tomorrow to urge the labor department to consummate its inspection processes by compelling employers to regularize workers. 

“DOLE, huwag naman kayong maging banderang kapos,” said BMP-ST chair Domeng Mole. “Employers do not follow the compliance orders of the labor inspections on labor-only contracting. Not only do they employ delaying tactics by submitting their appeal to the said findings,” he clarified. 

“More so, using the threat of unemployment, they tell casual employees not to demand their regularization. Local unions at inspected workplaces are also dissuaded from including the now regular workers into their bargaining unit. If the DOLE would not compel management to regularize its workers, then its inspections only created more confusion at the shop-floor level, which will lead to the further detriment to labor rights and standards,” Mole added. 

The BMP Southern Tagalog chapter has documented 9 DOLE inspections in the industrial Calabarzon region, which ordered the regularization of 2,369 casual workers (see data below). The list included the Asia Brewery Inc. plant in Cabuyao, Laguna, where the management was ordered to regularize 351 workers. The ABI casual workers are scheduled for a dialogue with Sec. Bello at around 11:00 a.m.

Also joining the protest are supervisory workers from Dusit Hotel, who protest the termination of its union president, Crisanto Ami. Ami was dismissed on trumped up charges. The union believes that the heavy-handed reaction is a retaliatory action to a DOLE investigation on labor contractualization practices by the Dusit Thani management last May 16, 2016. 

As the result of said inspection, the management was ordered to regularize 309 out of 382 casual employees and to pay P48 million to compensate for its underpayment to the aggrieved workers.  The inspection was requested by Mr. Ami. 

Meanwhile, BMP national president Leody de Guzman challenged the DOLE to show proof that Duterte’s stance against contractualization is real. He concluded, “After more than a year in office, the contractualization of ‘usually necessary or desirable’ work continues. Tuloy ang endo! Even with the DOLE inspections, employers still resort to labor-only contracting to keep wages low and their workers docile. If there is truth to Duterte's harsh words against contractualization, DOLE Sec. Bello, as his alter-ego, should go after these abusive capitalists and their labor-only contractors”. #

BMP Rally at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati

Workers’ Picket at Dusit Hotel against Union Busting and Contractualization

MEMBERS of the militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) held a picket-protest in front of the Dusit Hotel in Makati to express solidarity to the hotel supervisory union, who are preparing to go on strike in response to the dismissal of its president, Crisanto Ami. 

Crisanto Ami was dismissed on trumped up charges of theft, involving a piece of Ferrero Rocher chocolate. The supervisory union, however, asserts that the management decision is an attempt to bust the union by removing its union president. 

BMP national president Leody de Guzman said, “The dismissal of Mr. Cris Ami does not commensurate to his alleged transgression, if there was any, since the supervisory union president said that he followed company rules on provisions left by hotel guests”. 

“The BMP and the hotel supervisory union alludes that the heavy-handed reaction is a retaliatory action to a DOLE investigation on labor contractualization practices by the Dusit management last May 16, 2016. In fact, as a sign of negotiating in bad faith, the management dismissed Mr. Ami on the same day that it concluded the collective bargaining negotiations with the supervisory union,” the labor leader added. 

As the result of said inspection, the management was ordered to regularize 309 out of 382 casual employees and to pay P48 million to compensate for its underpayment to the aggrieved workers. Cris Ami requested for the said DOLE inspection.  Several contractual workers, who have also been sacked, joined the picket and are calling for immediate reinstatement and payment of backwages. 

The BMP challenges the Duterte administration and DOLE Secretary to prove their anti-contractualization stance in the Dusit case. 

De Guzman expounded, “It has been more than a year since Duterte took oath as the most powerful man in the country. Yet his promise to end contractualization is yet to be realized. Action speaks louder than words. The Dusit case provides him the opportune moment to show his real position towards contractualization by compelling the management to reinstate Cris Ami, president of the hotel supervisory union and to regularize and reinstate the contractual employees”. 

He concluded, “The inspections transpired before the Labor Advisory 10 and Department Order 168, which granted more power to DOLE labor standards inspections under the helm of DOLE Secretary Bello. Nonetheless the labor department must take full responsibility for its actions, which has caused the loss of livelihood of unionists who simply sought the help of DOLE in enforcing labor standards at the workplace”. #

Workers picket at Senate: “No new taxes to a fascist government that slaughters poor youths!”

BMP PRESS RELEASE

August 24, 2017

As the Senate conducts hearings on the controversial murder of 17-year old Kian delos Santos by elements of the Caloocan police and on the Tax Reform for Acceleration for Inclusion (TRAIN), members of the militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) held a picket in front of the upper house today to condemn the “war on drugs” and proposed tax measures, which they both dubbed as “anti-poor”. 

BMP president Leody de Guzman said, “No new taxes to a government that slaughters poor youths like Kian delos Santos! Workers demand justice for Kian as much as we demand tax justice. Tax the rich, not the poor”. 

Anti-Poor TRAIN

The labor group is calling on the Senate to reject House Bill 5636, which will “exempt the middle class and the rich from personal income taxes while raising excise taxes on products that are consumed by the poor majority and the general public”. 

De Guzman clarified, “Minimum wage workers, who are at the seventh decile of family income distribution – according to DOF estimates, are already exempted from withholding taxes. The proposed increase on personal tax exemption to P250,000 a year would only benefit the middle class, professionals, chief executive officers and affluent celebrities”.

“The increase in estate and donor taxes would only benefit the propertied few. Its inclusion in HB 5636 means that our legislators in Congress are concerned more with the inheritance to be received by their heirs. While it is true that the impact of excise taxes for petroleum products and sugar sweetened beverages, including the broadening of the VAT base, is across-the-board, its proportion to household income is higher for poorer sections of society,” he added.

“There are tax reforms and there are tax reforms. The proposed TRAIN would wreck the lives of the majority poor. We need to introduce reforms that would pass the tax burden to those who have more in life. The top ten richest Filipinos are not the BIR’s top ten taxpayers. Clearly, something is rotten in our taxation system. Higher consumption taxes should be placed on luxury goods. Higher tax rates should be placed on wealth and property”. 

“War on the Poor”

“Workers are likewise enraged at a fascist government, which seeks new taxes on the poor, but is also waging a war against them in the so-called ‘gyera laban sa droga’. Almost all of the estimated 13,000 dead come from the poor. Due process is reserved to those who have economic power and political connections. The murder of Kian delos Santos should serve as a wake-up call to those who blindly support the bloody war against illegal drugs. No one would be spared, not even the innocents who, like Kian, have associated themselves with the so-called DDS. Stop the killings now,” he concluded. #

TRAIN ni Digong: Pahirap sa masa, pabor sa kapitalista

Workers call on BIR and Congress to stop corruption, plug tax leaks, remove incentives

PRESS RELEASE

July 31, 2017

“Most tax compliant sector” proposes its own version of tax reform:

Workers call on BIR and Congress to stop corruption, plug tax leaks, remove incentives

As the Duterte administration pushes the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN – a series of amendments to the country’s taxation system, members of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) staged a picket in front of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) main office in Agham Road in Quezon City today, to call for a pro-labor, pro-poor version of tax reform.

Duterte’s TRAIN is on the wrong track

Leody de Guzman, BMP national president said, “The proposed TRAIN is anti-poor and anti-labor. Its proposed increase in personal tax exemptions would only benefit less than 30% of the population since minimum wage workers – who are at the 7th decile of family income distribution – are already exempt from withholding taxes”. 

“Worse, it would make up for the loss revenue in increasing income tax exemptions by imposing higher excise taxes on goods that are directly and indirectly consumed by the public such as sugared beverages and petroleum products, while lowering taxes that weighs down the privileged elite such as estate taxes. It is a train that is not only on the wrong track but also run over the workers and the poor,” the labor leader added. 

“The president must be reminded of the Constitutional mandate for a progressive taxation system. Taxes on consumption, such as excise and the VAT, are generally regressive. Even if the majority poor consume less that the affluent few, higher consumption taxes would mean a bigger portion of their low income would go to taxes, especially because most, if not all, of their income are spent and have no propensity for savings. We propose more taxes for the rich, primarily based on income and property. Tax the rich; not the poor,” he clarified. 

Pro-worker, pro poor tax and fiscal reforms

“We call on the BIR and Congress to stop corruption by punishing corrupt BIR officials, to plug tax leaks caused by legal but immoral tax avoidance, and to remove incentives enjoyed by multinational corporations,” de Guzman furthered. 

The BMP cited the plunder case against Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay and 17 other officials and personnel for allegedly reducing the tax liabilities of Del Monte Philippines Inc., causing the government to allegedly lose P29 billion in potential revenues. 

The labor group also pointed to the P103 billion tax evasion case against cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation in 2016 and its suspected counterfeited of BIR stamps in 2017.  It also mentioned the billions lost in government coffers due to tax incentives to entice investors. In 2011 alone, the government gave away P144 billion in tax incentives to foreign corporations. In 2013, tax incentives to seven (7) mining firms amounted to P4.5 billion.

“Wage workers are the most tax compliant sector, as compared to professionals, and to VAT collections from corporations. We are already overburdened by taxes. But instead of pursuing the wealthy to increase its revenue, the government wants to put add more of the tax burden to the workers and the poor. If Duterte wants to have billions for his golden age of infrastructure, he should get from the billionaires, not from the millions who are poor. After all, it is the richest 1% of the population – along with the top echelon of the bureaucracy – who would benefit from construction contracts and project financing of the government thrust to ‘build, build, build’. Simply put, those who have more in life should have more in taxes,” he concluded. 

Flurry of protests to highlight Duterte’s 2nd SONA

Press Release

23 July 2017

Militant groups vowed to to make protests synonymous with President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation’s Address (SONA) by staging multiple demonstrations to assert that the president’s promise of change has not been realized.

Contingents of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Sanlakas and Partido ng Lakas ng Masa (PLM) members will commence their day by holding symbolic simultaneous actions at the Bureau of Internal Revenue to denounce the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion program, and at the National Housing Authority to push for decent, affordable and safe public housing. The groups will also send a contingent to the nearby head office of the Department of Natural Resource to call for the termination of all coal-related projects.

“The simultaneous actions at various state agencies is proof that change has not come. Despite Duterte’s rosy pronouncements while still campaigning and even up to his first SONA, Duterte’s regime remains to be a major let down for those who voted for him”. said Leody de Guzman, president of BMP.

He added that, “we are even baffled with what he plans to brag as achievements in tomorrow’s SONA. After an entire year of threatening employers who abuse contractual workers, no finger was lifted and despite our protestations, contractual employment remains to be the dominant mode of employment in the country”.

The groups are also critical of the regime’s tax reform program which they branded as regressive and anti-poor. It’s much vaunted tax exemption will only benefit a minute number of the country’s twenty-two million wage-earners as capitalists will not only save up on the proposed bracketing but will also enjoy lowered corporate and estate taxes.

They announced that their contingents shall merge in front of the the Iglesia ni Cristo church in Litex along Commonwealth Avenue and will march towards the North gate, where they will hold their program.

It was earlier announced that other political blocs shall hold their program at the South gate.

Similar protests would also be held in Bacolod, Tacloban, Cebu and Davao.#

Pahayag sa Unang Taon ng Rehimeng Duterte

Unang Taon ng Rehimeng Duterte: Bogus na Pagbabago ng Kapitalista’t Reaksyonaryong Gobyerno

ISANG taon na ang rehimen. Kung dati’y sinasabi ng marami na maaring pagbigyan si Duterte dahil siya ay nasa transisyon pa mula sa dating meyor ng Davao tungo sa pagiging pangulo ng bansa, maari nang husgahan ang kanyang isang taon sa pagitan ng dalawang SONA.

Sa ikalawang SONA ni Duterte, ni anino ng “Change is coming” ay hindi pa rin naaaninag ng mamamayang Pilipino, laluna ng masang manggagawa. Napako ang lahat ng mga pangako. Naglaho na tila bula ang mga repormang itinalumpati para makuha ang boto ng 16 milyong Pilipino. Kung mayroon man tayong nasasaksihang pagbabago, ito ay ang tuminding kahirapan, karahasan, at kaguluhan sa buhay ng mayoryang mahihirap!

Tumitinding Kahirapan

Iba si Duterte sa nagdaang mga pangulo. Walang pretensyon sa pagiging modelo ng “good manners and right conduct” bilang pangulo ng bansa. Isang butangero. Magaspang. Matapang magsalita. Subalit iba ang kanyang ginagawa. Kabaliktaran ng kanyang mga salita.

Kontraktwalisasyon: Para sa manggagawang sahuran, ang pinakamapait na kasingalingan ni Duterte ay ang pangakong “contractualization must stop”. Sapagkat walang nagbago. Tuloy ang endo. Tuloy ang ligaya, hindi lamang ng mga contractor at subcontractor kundi ng mga prinsipal na employer na patuloy na masusuplayan ng mura at maamong kontraktwal na manggagawa.  Ang nilabas na Department Order 174 ni DOLE Sec. Bello ay kabaliktaran sa ipinangako ni Duterte. Ngunit hindi siya kinakastigo ng Palasyo! Wala ring Executive Order para iwasto ang kalokohan ni Sec. Bello. Trabahong regular, hindi kontraktwal!

Tax reform: Nagmamalaki ang gobyerno na “pro-poor” daw ang kanilang panukalang pagrereporma sa sistema ng pagbubuwis. Kailangan daw ito sa mga proyekto ng “build, build, build” na papakinabangan ng taumbayan. Pero sino ang kakargo ng pasaning pagbubuwis? Ang mga mahihirap! Sapagkat ang itataas nila ang excise tax sa mga produktong petrolyo at inuming may-asukal. Pasasaklawin din ang VAT. Tatanggalin ang eksempsyon sa VAT sa renta o pangungupahan na nagkakahalagang P10,000 kada buwan.

Tataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin sa balak na tax reform. Sapagkat ang pangunahing dadagdagan ng tax ay ang produktong petrolyo, na ginagamit sa transportasyon ng mga tao at mga produkto – at sa paglikha ng kuryente. Tataas ang upa ng mga maliit na komersyante, dahil sa VAT, at babawiin nila ito sa presyo ng kanilang mga paninda. Hindi na din eksempted sa VAT ang low-cost at socialized housing!

Nagkukunwari pa silang ibabalanse daw ang sistema ng pagbubuwis dahil itataas sa P250,000 ang eksempsyon sa personal income tax. Kalokohan! Ang milyon-milyong manggagawa, na karamiha’y kontraktwal sa maliliit na mga establisyemento at kumikita ng minimum wage, ay hindi na kinakaltasan ng withholding tax. Ang mahihirap na 60% ng mga pamilyang Pilipino ay hindi nabubuhay sa sahod, kumikita ng mas mababa sa minimum wage, at nasa underground economy. Hindi sila kasali sa income tax exemption! Ang mga mayayaman ang mas makikinabang sa pagtataas ng eksempsyon sa income tax! At tila hindi pa sila nasiyahan dito, ibaba din nila ang buwis sa kita ng mga korporasyon at estate tax (buwis sa mga pag-aari ng isang yumao bago ipamana sa kanyang benepisyaryo). Tax the rich, not the poor!

Mababang sahod. Nananatili ang kontraktwalisasyon. Mababa pa rin ang sweldo. Hindi na nga sapat para mabuhay ng disente’t marangal ang isang pamilya ng manggagawa. Lalo pa itong liliit sa pagsasabatas ng TRAIN o Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion sa 2018, na magtataas sa presyo ng mga bilihin at magbabagsal sa tunay na halaga ng sweldo. Isabatas ang living wage, buwagin ang mga wage board!

Demolisyon at pabahay. Sabi ni Duterte, wala raw madedemolis kung walang relokasyon. Subalit maraming pampublikong proyekto – kasama ang mula sa mga local government, ang nagreresulta sa pwersahang ebiksyon ng mga maralita, kahit hindi pa naisasayos ang kanilang relokasyon.

Ilan lamang dito ang sa Tatalon sa Quezon City, sa Minuyan sa Bulacan, at Langaray Market sa Malabon. Dadami pa ito sa binabalak na “golden age of infrastructure” sa termino ni Duterte. Wala pa ring policy ang Palasyo ukol sa mura at disenteng pabahay sa masang maralita.

Kaya’t sa mga proyektong pang-relokasyon (tulad ng nabulgar sa pabahay na inokupa ng Kadamay sa Bulacan), nananatili ang problema ng kawalan ng serbisyo. Malayo sa hanapbuhay, sa paaralan, sa ospital, atbp. Nasa liblib na karatig-probinsya ng Metro Manila. Minsa’y problema pa ang mismong linya ng tubig at kuryente. Ang masahol, napakamahal pa! Kaya’t tuloy pa rin ang problema ng foreclosure sa mga residenteng hindi makapagbayad ng mga amortisasyon, atbp. Binabawi lamang ng bangko. Habang tumatabo sa tubo ang mga real estate developer, mga opisyal ng local government, at mga bangko’t pinansyer, na tanging nakinabang sa mga proyektong pabahay ng gobyerno. Maayos na relokasyon bago demolisyon! Ipatupad ang Konstitusyunal na probisyon sa mura, ligtas at disenteng pabahay para sa masa!

Pag-atake sa oligarkiya. Aatakehin daw ni Digong ang “oligarkiya” o ang iilang mga pamilya na patuloy sa pagyaman sa kabila ng lumalalang kahirapan ng nakararami. Noong Agosto 2016, ang pinagsamang pagaari ng 50 pinakamayaman sa bansa ay nagkakahalagang $79.47 Bilyon o 27.58% ng gross domestic product o GDP. Mas mataas kumpara noong 2013, na nasa $65.8 Bilyon o 24% ng GDP.

Katunayan, ang pondong tutustos sa mga proyektong pang-imprastraktura ng Dutertenomics - na nagkakahalagang walo hanggang siyam na trilyong piso (P8-9 trilyon) hanggang 2022 - ay magmumula sa bagong buwis (na papasanin ng mahihirap) at bagong mga pautang.

Sa mga uutangin, 80% ay mula sa mga domestic loans (ibig sabihin, BDO ni Henry Sy, BPI ni Ayala, Metrobank ni Ty, RCBC ni Yuchengco, atbp. na pawang mga oligarkiyang sinabi ni Duterte na kanyang tutugisin!). Habang 20% ang mula sa dayuhang pautang (kasama ang Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank o AIIB), na pinangunahan ng Tsina at kanyang binantaan noon laban sa paghihimasok at pag-angkin sa mga isla sa West Philippine Sea!). Redistribusyon ng yaman!

Pag-atake sa Estados Unidos: Si Duterte raw ay para sa isang “independyenteng patakarang panlabas”. Ayaw daw niya sa panghihimasok ng Amerika. Ngunit hindi niya nilalansag ang kasunduang militar gaya ng Mutual Defense Treaty, Visiting Forces Agreement, Enchanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, atbp. Bumaliktad din siya sa mga nauna niyang pagkontra sa pagpasok ng tropang Amerikano, pinayagan niya itong sumali sa operasyon laban sa grupong Maute.  Lansagin ang dominasyon ng imperyalistang Amerika sa ekonomya’t pulitika ng bansa!

Pagwasak ng Kalikasan at Pagmimina. Dati animo’y kumakampi si Duterte kay Gina Lopez para proteksyunan ang kalikasan. Subalit hinayaan niya itong malaglag sa Senado. Binabawi na ni DENR Sec Cimatu ang mga suspensyon sa pagmimina na iginawad ni Lopez. Ang pagkawasak sa kalikasan ang sisira sa agrikulturang pangunahing ikinabubuhay ng ating mga kababayan sa kanayunan. Labanan ang mapanira at malakihang pagmimina at pagtotroso!

Umiigting na Karahasan at Kaguluhan

Panghuli, at higit sa lahat, sa unang taon ni Duterte, naging saksi tayo sa kaliwa’t kanang patayan at pagkawalang-bahala sa proseso ng batas. Libo-libo na ang pinatay ng “War on Drugs”, karamiha’y mga mahihirap na adik at tulak. Ngayo’y idinidikit na nila ang isyu ng droga sa gyera kontra terorismo. May mga nagpapanukala pang patagalin at/o palawigin ang Batas Militar sa buong bansa upang magamit ang kamay na bakal na estado sa lahat ng kalaban ng republika.

Nililikha ng mga pwersa ng reaksyon ang isang klima ng takot, pananahimik, at pag-aatubiling punahin ang mga ginagawa ni Duterte, na kung hahayaang magtagumpay ay tutungo sa tuluyang paglusaw sa ating mga demokratikong karapatan. Laluna sa kalayaang lumaban sa pang-aapi’t pang-aabuso ng iilang mayyaman at may-kapangyarihan - sa pamamagitan ng malayang pagtitipon, sama-samang pagkilos, at sariling pag-oorganisa.

Ang klima ng takot at pagsawalang-kibo ang pinakapaborableng kondisyon para sa malawakang pandarambong, hindi lang ng mga burukrata’t opisyal na magpipiyesta sa pinalaking buwis na kokolektahin ng gobyerno kundi ng mga malalaking kapitalista magiging kasosyo’t pinansyer sa mga proyektong pangimprastraktura, mga kontrata sa pagtotroso at pagmimina, at sa lahat ng likas at likhang yamang mula sa kalikasan at paggawa sa Pilipinas. Labanan ang pasistang atake sa mga kalayaang sibil at karapatang pantao!

Mga kauri at kababayan! Huwag tayong magpaloko sa mga pretensyon ni Duterte. Bogus ang ipinangakong pagbabago ng “Change is coming”! Kiskisin natin ang nakalambong na ilusyon upang tumambad sa atin na ang kasalukuyang pangulo ay tagapagpatupad lamang ng interes ng malalaking kapital. Ito ang katotohanang aming ipinababatid sa milyon-milyong umaasa pa rin sa kanilang bulaang manunubos. Sama-sama nating isulong at ipagtanggol ang ating mga karapatan at kabuhayan tungo sa tunay na pagbabagong matagal nang inaasam ng manggagawa’t mamamayang Pilipino. #