PSA report on easing of unemployment ‘illusory’; gov’t must work harder at creating jobs — Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, ALU

Labor groups described the results of the latest Labor Force Survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing the easing of unemployment rate as “illusory.”

“Yes, unemployment rate fell between July and October 2020. But the 8.7 percent unemployment rate reported for the last quarter of 2020 is an illusion,” Nagkaisa Labor Coalition chairperson Atty. Sonny Matula said in a statement on Thursday.

“Employment remains low. Compared to the same quarter last year, the number of employed workers is lower by 2.7 million. The current employment level is also less than the number of employed workers in July by almost 1.5 million. That does not resemble recovery at all,” he added.

Except for self-employment and employers in family-owned business or farms, Matula said, the number of workers across classes remains lower than last year and even in July.

He added that wage and salary workers is short by 2.6 million compared to last year. 

Matula said the economy remains weak, there is not enough demand in the market and firms have not recovered at all. 

“If October and July labor indicators were any indication of the performance of the government’s current approach to the pandemic and the crisis, then it is as if economic managers were not working at all,” he said.

If there is anything the economic managers should learn from the survey, Matula said, it is this “the jobs crisis is real and it is staring at them in the face.”

Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, called on the government to address the unemployment by generating jobs.

“Job generation has to come from the national and local government building infrastructure programs. The government must take the lead in providing more jobs through aggressive infrastructures spending which employs Filipinos,” he said.

Underemployment, Tanjusay said, must also be addressed by providing financial grant incentives and affordable loans to troubled businesses and financially distressed business-owners to help them cope through the pandemic health and economic crisis and adjust to the new normal. 

He said the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture should also do their part in addressing exorbitant and unlawful increases in prices of basic food commodities by going after hoarders and profiteers nationwide and make prices of food affordable. 

The Department of Labor and Employment, Tanjusay said, should help curb the rising underemployment by fully resuming the conduct of labor inspections nationwide to ensure that lawful wages, social protection benefits and quality, and provision of regular jobs are enforced. - by Leslie Ann Aquino

Extended or modified ECQ? #BalikTrabahongLigtas, an equitable new normal is what we want – labor group

Today, the president is expected to announce his decision on what to do with the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

For the Nagkaisa! labor coalition, to extend or to modify the ECQ are false choices for the working class. Sadly government is unable to display ability to provide the requirements for either of these two options.

Should the lockdown be extended due to the fact that the virus has yet to be contained, workers have to face the reality that the government has been consistently failing to provide its promised aid to the poor and the near poor, many of whom they mistakenly categorize as the “middle class.”

After 5 weeks of lockdown, the president himself, in his latest report to Congress, admitted that only 49% of the target beneficiaries were actually provided with its minimal aid. Majority of the people in need, in other words, are getting more frustrated of the slow, intricate and short-circuited administration of the promised aid.

Should the lockdown be modified to allow some workers back to work, workers also face the grim reality that both the government and many employers have yet to prove that they can actually provide a safe working environment for everyone as the level of protection, even for our frontliners and those who were allowed to remain working in essential establishments, are sorely lacking.

Asking workers to return to work without the most effective mass testing method may end up wasting whatever gains we had during the quarantine.

In effect, government and employers are irresponsibly gambling with the lives of the working class to save the inequitable economy that we have.

This is why, before we even talk of what to do with ECQ, Nagkaisa is pressing for the following demands:

1. Show the public a clear action battle plan not only for defeating the virus but also in protecting the people from the impacts of economic recession

2. Provide universal support like an income guarantee equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage or P10k whichever is higher to avoid the bureaucratic bottlenecks created by targeted support.

3. Improve protection to all our health workers who are disproportionately victimized by the virus and start building up the public health care delivery by hiring full time healthcare workers and regularizing all HCWs under contract of service arrangements.

4. Release a DOLE Department Order that would mandate the employers to negotiate with unions or workers’ representatives practical and realistic Covid-19 protocols, most importantly a PCR-based massive testing as against the rapid antibody test being promoted by the business sector; provision of PPEs, regular workplace disinfection, and providing paid quarantine leaves when needed.

5. Ensure free medical services should workers be infected.

The administration should address these challenges in the soonest possible time. Nangkaisa! also calls on government to consult with trade unions and other people’s organizations — listen to their calls and work with them in addressing the challenges of this pandemic.

Clearly, we can no longer go back to normal. Returning back to depressed working conditions without labor rights protection is not what we envision.

If we are to restart the economy, we might as well build a better one, an economy that is equitable enough to ensure that everyone shares the fruits of economic developments, and sustainable enough to mitigate even the impacts of climate change and future pandemics.

Nagkaisa! is set to unveil is comprehensive proposals before May 1.

#BalikTrabahongLigtas

PRESS STATEMENT
NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition
April 23, 2020

Big workers’ groups press for end to contractualization, wage increase

Updated photo Labor Day 2019 Manila

Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)--the largest labor groups in the country, convened on the eve of Labor Day to reiterate calls for an end to contractualization and push for the enactment of a Security of Tenure Law, while calling for increase in wages nationwide.

“We have long and consistently called for a just end to pervasive contractualization of labor, yet the practice of labor-only contracting, job-only contracting and other forms of flexible labor remain prevalent among the working people,” said Elmer Labog, chairperson of KMU.

Congress has nine more session days after the elections. Newly-elected legislators won’t begin their terms until after June 30. “The labor movement will defend workers' rights to the last. With enough political will, President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies in the Senate can still have a Security of Tenure Law enacted during this Congress,” said Atty. Sonny Matula, chairperson of Nagkaisa.

Nagkaisa and KMU were together at the Senate in early February during the last few session days prior to the recess of Congress as they mounted pressure on the Senate to pass the Security of Tenure Bill.

“This will definitely continue the pressure on the Senate, especially its reelectionist senators to openly declare either their support or opposition to the proposed End Endo Law,” Matula said.

Ending contractualization is one of the biggest promises of President Rodrigo Duterte. Many believe it was one of the issues that catapulted him to the presidency among the working people in the public and private sectors.

“Two issuances under President Duterte’s watch—DOLE Department Order 174 in 2017 and Executive Order 51 on Labor Day last year—failed to solve, and perhaps worsened contractualization,” Labog said. Duterte then certified as urgent the SOT Bill. The Senate has not passed a Security of Tenure Bill despite also getting the commitment of Senate President Tito Sotto.

The Filipino workers unity will thrive and translate into votes and campaigns against contractualization and opponents of workers' rights and benefits in the present and next Congress. “Filipino workers are proposing to clamp down on labor-only contractors by having a new law declaring labor-only contracting illegal, irrespective of a manpower agency’s capitalization or investment in equipment, and imposing heftier fines on erring employers and manpower agencies, way beyond the mere P1,000.00 that present laws provide,” Matula said.

“This is unacceptable. We cannot legitimize labor-only contractors, who do nothing but recruit and deploy workers, yet maintain supervision over contractual workers on paper. They connive with principal business owners to deprive workers of security of tenure and other basic labor rights, while avoiding legal and financial obligations,” Labog said.

House Bill 6908 on Security of Tenure was passed early this 17th Congress. Its counterpart measure, Senate Bill 1826 has yet to be passed on second reading. “The passage of the Bill is the necessary first step in changing the law towards prohibiting contractualization. While it may not result in the total ban on contractualization, we find it critical to put a stop to conditions that promote precarious work,” Matula said.

“Failure to enact a law that will end contractualization will be on the hands of the Senate. It will go down as ‘a legacy of failure’ and one of the greatest unfulfilled promises of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Labog said. The groups also said that government as an employer should walk the talk.

The nationwide unity of workers also calls for an increase in wages, especially the fulfillment of a national minimum wage, a stop to all attacks against workers and the full recognition of workers' rights, especially the right to organize.

“A significant wage hike is long overdue. The sharp increase in inflation and cost of living has already eroded the value of existing wages. We call for an immediate wage increase, and a national minimum wage for all workers in the country,” Labog said.

Labor groups Kilos na Manggagawa, Metal Workers Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP) and BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) already filed wage hike petitions before the NCR Regional Wage Board last week. TUCP filed a wage hike petition yesterday.

A day before Labor Day, groups call for end to contractualization, wage increase

A day before the observance of Labor Day, groups Nagkaisa Labor Coalition and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) on Tuesday called for an end to contractualization among workers.

"We have long and consistently called for a just end to pervasive contractualization of labor, yet the practice of labor-only contracting, job-only contracting and other forms of flexible labor remain prevalent among the working people," KMU chairperson Elmer Labog said in a statement.

Attorney Sonny Matula, chairperson of Nagkaisa and a senatorial candidate, vowed that the labor movement would "defend workers' rights to the last."

"With enough political will, President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies in the Senate can still have a Security of Tenure Law enacted during this Congress," Matula said.

"This will definitely continue the pressure on the Senate, especially its reelectionist senators to openly declare either their support or opposition to the proposed End Endo law,” he added.

Duterte during the 2016 presidential campaign promised to abolish "endo" or the practice of contractualization.

In 2018, Duterte inked Executive Order 51 which prohibits the illegal contracting and sub-contracting of workers “by all parties including cooperatives.”

According to Labog, the said EO as well as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Order 174 in 2017 both failed to solve and instead worsened contractualization in the country.

"This is unacceptable. We cannot legitimize labor-only contractors, who do nothing but recruit and deploy workers, yet maintain supervision over contractual workers on paper," Labog said.

"They connive with principal business owners to deprive workers of security of tenure and other basic labor rights, while avoiding legal and financial obligations,” he added.

Wage increase

Meanwhile, the labor groups also called for an increase in wages, especially the fulfillment of a national minimum wage.

"A significant wage hike is long overdue. The sharp increase in inflation and cost of living has already eroded the value of existing wages. We call for an immediate wage increase and a national minimum wage for all workers in the country," Labog said.

In a separate Balitanghali report by GMA News' Mark Salazar, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is calling for an additional P710 on the minimum wage of workers in the National Capital Region.

"Tumaas 'yung labor productivity for the past 12 years ng 59 percent pero wala hong kapalit 'yun na real wage increase," Luis Manuel Corral, TUCP vice president, said.

If the Tripartite Wage Board will allow this increase, the minimum wage in Metro Manila will be P1,247, the report said.

For its part, the DOLE said the wage increase will be a long shot.

"Basically ang criteria ay 'yung needs ng workers, isang set 'yun tapos 'yung isa naman 'yung capacity of the employer to pay. Isang set 'yun and then the needs of the economy," Undersecretary Ana Dione said. — By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, RSJ, GMA News

Fix wages nationwide, labor groups tell Duterte

As the P25 minimum wage increase for Metro Manila workers took effect on Thursday, labor group Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and affiliates belonging to a coalition called Nagkaisa urged President Duterte to form a presidential commission that would study the creation of a national wage fixing mechanism.

In a statement, FFW said the P25 wage increase, approved by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board, was “latest proof of how wages fixed under the mechanism deepens inequality rather than eradicate chronic poverty.”

Failure

It said the group and other Nagkaisa affiliates believed “the meager increase simply fits into the 1989 template” created by Republic Act No. 6727, which bases wage increases on employers’ capacity to pay rather than on workers’ standard of living.

FFW said during the presidential election campaign, Duterte recognized that setting wages by regions was a failure.

“He himself announced the need to overhaul the system,” said Sonny Matula, FFW president.

“But until today, no executive action has been done so far to walk his pledge,” Matula added.

Another labor group, Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), said workers were unable to feel the impact of the P25 wage increase because of inflation.

Purchasing power

Alan Tanjusay, ALU-TUCP spokesperson, said the purchasing power of P25 nowadays was just P17.50.

“It has no impact,” Tanjusay said.

The government, he added, should step in and fill the gap by giving workers a monthly food voucher worth at least P500.

Tanjusay said Duterte had “neither said yes nor no to our proposal.”

“So we remain hopeful,” he added. - By: Tina G. Santos - Reporter / @santostinaINQ

Dismissing Usec Maglunsod is a great loss to the DOLE; he’s no NPA

Usec Maglungsod performs his mandate well in the DOLE. He is no NPA (non-performing asset).

In his short stint as undersecretary of labor for industrial relations, he has bridge the “gap of trust” between organized labor and the department by personally acting on complaints and facing mass actions of workers at the DOLE office in Intramuros. He has also pain stakingly conduct dialogues between employers and organized labor relaying to them the department’s effort on enforcing laws and regulations pertaining to labor contracting with the end in view of respecting the rights of both the workers and employers.

USec Joemag, as many in organized labor fondly called him, is a great loss to the department.

President Duterte has made a major mistake in dismissing the services of Usec Joemag at the DOLE only to heed the advice of the military and anti-worker elements of his administration.

Duterte certifies ‘end to endo’ bill as urgent

He cited the need to immediately enact Senate Bill 1826, titled “An Act Strengthening Workers Right to Security of Tenure,” in a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III dated Sept. 21.

MANILA, Philippines — MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has certified as urgent a bill that seeks to prohibit contractualization and labor-only contracting, practices that he said are causing poverty and underemployment in the country.

He cited the need to immediately enact Senate Bill 1826, titled “An Act Strengthening Workers Right to Security of Tenure,” in a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III dated Sept. 21.

The President said the measure would strengthen workers’ security of tenure by prohibiting the “prevalent” practices of contractualization and labor-only contracting, describing these as something that “continue to immerse our workers in a quagmire of poverty and underemployment.”

“It is now certified urgent by the President, in line with his promise to put an end to endo (end of contract),” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing yesterday.

When the president certifies a bill as urgent, it will not be covered by the rule which states that a measure can only be approved on final reading three days after its approval on second reading.

The House of Representatives approved its version of the bill last January.

Roque said the Senate version aims to bar all forms of labor-only contracting and does not exempt contractors with huge capital.

Under the bill, there is labor-only contracting if the job contractor, whether licensed or not, merely recruits, supplies or places workers to a contractee, whether he has substantial capital or investment.

If the bill is enacted, companies would have to hire employees directly and could no longer source workers from employment agencies.

“This effectively repeals the provision of the Labor Code that permits labor-only contracting as long as the company has enough capital and assets,” Roque said.

Labor groups are becoming more optimistic that the country is closer to ending illegal short-term employment.

“We are near the goal. It’s closer than it has ever been, but we still have some work to do. The Senate has been given a directive to craft a law that will end contractualization. We must see this through and ensure that the proposed measure shall address the weaknesses of existing laws on security of tenure,” said labor coalition Nagkaisa chairman Sonny Matula.

He said the workers’ campaign to eradicate the endo scheme and other illegal forms of contractualization got a big push after Duterte certified the security of tenure bill as urgent.

“Labor’s persistence has so far paid off. Our relentless efforts have shown dividends. After more than two years, the Duterte administration has finally made a big step towards the fulfillment of a campaign promise,” Matula noted.

To ensure that legislators act on the certification, he said labor groups would mount more rallies to ask the lawmakers to pass the bill at the soonest time.“With the election season fast approaching, the Senate and House of Representatives, voting separately, are under pressure to ratify the harmonized version and submit the law for the President’s enactment,” Matula said. The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) also lauded Duterte for certifying as urgent the security of tenure (SOT) bill, which was already approved by Congress on third reading.

Gerard Seno, ALU-TUCP national executive vice president, said the certification of the SOT bill is definitely a positive vibe to workers whose morale has been low due to rising cost of living.“We pray that it will be passed by Congress consistent with the presidential promise instead of being watered down by the corporate vested interests which are overrepresented in Congress,” he said.TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza said the certification from the President is an early Christmas gift for workers who continue to struggle in making both ends meet.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III claimed that DOLE has long recommended the need to certify the SOT bill as urgent.

“We are now looking forward to the better implementation of regulation ensuring security of tenure of workers with the expected passage of the SOT bill,” he said.Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod hopes that the bill will be passed by November, if not early next year.– Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) With Mayen Jaymalin

Palace certifies as urgent Senate’s anti-‘endo’ bill

MALACAÑANG has asked that Senate Bill 1826 or the Security of Tenure (SoT) Bill be certified as urgent, following President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s commitment to abolish “endo,” an employment practice that denies workers a path to permanent status.

In a palace document dated Sept. 21, Mr. Duterte asked Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III to “certify the necessity of the immediate enactment” of the SOT Bill.

Malacañang added that the bill needs to pass to “strengthen workers’ security of tenure by prohibiting the prevalent practice of contractualization and labor-only contracting which continue to immerse our workers in a quagmire of poverty and underemployment.”

Mr. Sotto said in an interview with reporters that the chamber will push for the bill’s passage before Congress adjourns on Oct. 12.

“We’ll do our best to pass it by Oct. 11,” he said.

Sen. Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, who chairs the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, added: “We certainly need a law that will not only uphold our workers’ basic labor rights and restore dignity of work, but also a law that will promote quality employment without jeopardizing business operations but rather create more stable jobs for every Filipino.”

The Senator, who is also the author and principal sponsor of the bill, added that the SoT bill will address the interests of both the labor and business sectors.

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello expressed the hope that the law will pass and be implemented promptly.

At a briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Bello said he has a personal timetable of October passage for the bill allowing it to be signed into law by December.

Labor Undersecretary Joel B. Maglunsod said in a chance interview on Tuesday that the move to certify the bill is “(a step forward).”

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (NAGKAISA) Chairperson Jose Sonny G. Matula said the process of certification brings the sector closer to the goal of ending contractualization.

“It’s closer than it has ever been but we still have some work to do,” Mr. Matula, who is also the President of the Federation of Free Workers, said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added, “After more than two years, the Duterte administration has finally made a big step towards the fulfillment of a campaign promise.”

Associated Labor Unions — Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) National Executive Vice-President Gerard R. Seno said in a press release, “The moment the SOT bill is enacted into law, there is now a chance for contractual workers to be included in the country’s growing economic growth.”

For his part, Employers Confederation of the Philippines Acting President Sergio R. Luis-Ortiz, Jr. stressed that the passage of this bill could effectively reduce the labor force, adding that employers will be deterred from hiring workers especially for high-demand periods like Christmas.

He added that eliminating contractualization will also put off current and potential foreign investments from the country.

“Many foreign investors are turned off (by the measure),” he said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld on Tuesday.

“You cannot (remove contractualization); we’ll be the only one in the world to do that,” he added, noting that the contracting of services not directly affecting the company’s business is a common global business practice. — Gillian M. Cortez

Duterte certifies as urgent anti-contractualization bill

Organized labor finally got a big push in its quest to end Contractualization.

President Rodrigo Duterte has certified as urgent Senate Bill 1826 that seeks to end Contractualization and strengthen security of tenure of workers.

“NAGKAISA welcomes the certification of President Duterte,” said Atty. Sonny Matula, chairperson of the Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition.

“We are near the goal. It’s closer than it has ever been, but we still have some work to do. The Senate has been given a directive to craft a law that will end Contractualization. We must see this through and ensure that the proposed measure shall address the weaknesses of existing laws on security of tenure,” Matula said.

Nagkaisa has consistently campaigned against Contractualization since its inception in 2012.

“Labor’s persistence has so far paid off. Our relentless efforts have shown dividends. Now is not the time to rest. After more than two years, the Duterte administration has finally made a big step towards the fulfillment of a campaign promise,” said Matula, who is also the president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW).

“We shall mount more pressure within the halls of Congress and the parliament of the streets,” said Matula.

Once passed by the Senate, a bicameral conference will be convened by both chambers of Congress to harmonize the provisions of the separate bills.

“With the election season fast approaching, the Senate and House of Representatives, voting separately, is under pressure to ratify the harmonized version and submit the law for the president’s enactment,” Matula said.

Workers urge Roque: Check market prices

NOISE PROTEST Farmers bang empty pots during a rally in Mendiola to denounce the rapid increase in rice prices, which are now beyond the reach of poor consumers. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Labor groups urged presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday to go to market — a nod to a nursery rhyme — to get a sense of how Filipinos were hard-pressed in stretching their budgets amid soaring prices of basic commodities.

They issued the challenge after Roque said on Friday that while the 6.4-percent inflation rate in August was higher than usual, “it’s nothing to be worried about.”

The public may not find comfort in the Palace official’s assurance as fuel prices have increased anew, a development that can thwart efforts to tame inflation.

For the fifth week in a row, oil companies in the country increased pump prices. Prices of diesel, gasoline and kerosene went up by 65 centavos per liter starting 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Insensitive

A moderate labor group, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, said Roque’s effort to downplay the impact of the high inflation was not only antipoor but also reeked of “insensitivity.”

“The inflation rate is pushing the prices of food way beyond the capacity of the majority of poor Filipinos, whether they are employed or unemployed,” said Sentro secretary general Josua Mata.

Inflation last month was the highest in nine years. It stood at 7 percent in Metro Manila and 9 percent in Bicol.

Prices of food, especially rice, fish, meat and vegetables, and nonalcoholic beverages rose 8.5 percent.

Vegetables and fish may now be out of reach of the poor because their prices, according to government data, rose nationwide in August by 19.2 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively.

In the absence of subsidized rice from the state-owned National Food Authority (NFA) in many parts of the country, commercial rice is no longer affordable to many Filipinos as its prices have hit record highs.

The shortage of cheap NFA rice prompted the local governments to declare a state of calamity two weeks ago in Zamboanga City and Tawi-Tawi province, where prices of the staple rose to up to P70 and P80 a kilo, respectively.

Deep anxiety

Roque may have nothing to worry about the rising cost of living given the status and lifestyle of his family, according to the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).

“But in the case of millions of poor Filipinos already deep in poverty, this current inflation is a cause of depression and deep anxiety for them,’’ said ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.

Tanjusay said power and high-handedness might have gone into the head of Roque “that he had lost touch of what makes poor people sing.”

Nagkaisa labor coalition spokesperson Rene Magtubo said Filipinos “have every [reason] to worry.”

“Is he living on another planet?” Magtubo said, referring to the presidential spokesperson. “It’s very difficult now to fit our low wages with the continued increase in the price of basic commodities.”

As Filipinos become increasingly food insecure, the three labor groups called on President Duterte to sack his economic managers, as well as Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol and NFA Administrator Jason Aquino.

“Their incompetence is clearly part of the problem,” Mata said.

Price rigging, hoarding

In the House of Representatives, Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. urged the National Price Coordinating Council to look into reports that some unscrupulous individuals may be involved in price manipulation and “widespread hoarding.”

“In some places, inflation is higher than the national average. Rice and gas prices have shot through the roof in many provinces where the cost of transporting them is expensive,” the Camarines Sur lawmaker said in a statement.

Besides a depleted NFA buffer stock and hoarding, rising fuel prices, weakening of the peso, low supply of certain commodities and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act were blamed for the surging cost of living.

TRAIN impact

The TRAIN law, which took effect on Jan. 1, jacked up or slapped new taxes on goods, such as oil, cigarettes, sugary drinks and vehicles, to compensate for raising the cap on tax-exempt personal income to an annual pay of P250,000.

Prices of diesel have gone up 25 times this year but have gone down 11 times for a net increase of P11.80 per liter, according to the Department of Energy.

Prices of gasoline have risen 26 times but have fallen 10 times for a net increase of P11.47.

Seeking to ease fears that inflation might worsen in the coming months, Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu said on Monday that rising prices were just a “birth pain” of the TRAIN law,

“Like in the delivery of a baby, we will all feel happiness after the child’s birth,” the Batangas lawmaker said at a news briefing. “As they say, we should relax for now. We will eventually feel its gains.”

Half cup of rice

Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe said the TRAIN law should not be blamed for the high inflation.

Batocabe said the people had been complaining about the rising prices of goods because “they were used” to the low level of inflation during the Aquino administration.

“Maybe we should tighten our belts some more,” he said. “We should also stop wasting rice. If you cannot finish a cup of rice, then just buy half a cup instead.” -
By: Jovic Yee, Marlon Ramos, Ronnel W. Domingo - @inquirerdotnet

Labor group expects “good” SONA

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, the largest coalition of worker’s organization in the country expects a “good” SONA from President Duterte.

“It should be a SONA that would squarely address economic woes and political issues besetting the country today”, said Nagkaisa spokesperson Ka Rene Magtubo.

Nagkaisa expects the President’s SONA should contain the following:

– Addressing the proliferation of illegal and abusive contracting arrangements that DO 174 and EO 51 failed to do, by way of certifying as urgent the Security of Tenure Bill pending in the Senate

– Addressing the “gap” in workers wages and the cost of living brought about by the TRAIN law, rising inflation, peso devaluation, profiteering and the spike in global prices of petroleum products by way of certifying as urgent wage bills pending in the House of Representatives;

– Providing more assistance to women workers by enacting into law the Expanded Maternity Leave Bill pending in the House of Representatives;

– Addressing the prevalence of poverty despite positive economic growth in terms of programs and services that would directly benefit the poor people by way of increasing budget in affordable housing, universal healthcare and pension for the elderly among others;

– Addressing the continuing problem of unemployment and underemployment by way of policies and programs that would provide more local employment opportunities to the labor force by way of a clear industrialization policy, continuing land reform, and development of agriculture; and

– Clear government policy of defending the country’s sovereignty and patrimony on its rightful claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“These are the real issues that matter most to the working people that government should prioritize and not charter change. Absent these issues, the speech will be “business as usual” as in the previous SONAs”, Magtubo added.

Majority of the members of the coalition will be joining the United Peoples’ SONA to voice out workers issues and concerns.

– Nagkaisa Labor Coalition
Press Release