TUCP tells Aquino: Lead from the front

THE largest labor organization in the country, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), on Monday called on President Benigno Aquino 3rd to “lead from the front” and convene a “national summit for a jobs program” and a “national summit on power, water and public transport.”

“The TUCP believes that all sectors of society will rally behind the President once he takes the cudgels for the real issues that plague the country today: unemployment, the power crisis, the impending water crisis and the public transport breakdown,” TUCP Executive Director Luis Corral said.

According to him, “(t)he Left and their outworn ideological prescriptions are now outwearing the welcome and tolerance of those who simply want investments that create decent jobs and arguably the governance reforms of Aquino are creating such a window of opportunity.”

“In the same vein, there are those presuming to speak for the basic social sectors in advancing a narrative of succession in 2015, (with one) painting a false picture of the administration and the other is doing a disservice to the nation in distracting the President from the real problems he has to address in the last two years of his administration,” Corral said.

He added that Aquino’s “failure to take up these real problems, not the elite discourse on 2015 succession, will be the prelude to an economic meltdown and collapse of his social contract” with the people,” he added.

The TUCP pointed out that a recent Social Weather Stations survey on joblessness and the static 7.1 percent unemployment rate represent the true picture of how far economic inclusiveness still has to go, that the power crisis is having a chilling effect on locators and investors and may lead to a new round of job retrenchments.

It said even as clogged ports have led to some 20,000 workers being laid off, ordinary workers risk death and amputation everyday as they take the dilapidated Metro Rail Transit 3 train system daily.

Meanwhile, the TUCP accused the government of playing deaf to cries of the National Water and Resources Board that El Nino threatens the country’s water supply for drinking purposes, agricultural use and electricity generation.

TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the President is badly served by high officials preparing their golden parachutes or warming their chairs preparing for future electoral campaigns. - JING VILLAMENTE / Manila Times

Group urges Aquino to address problems via national summit

THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Sunday called on President Aquino to take the lead in addressing the problems besetting the country by convening a “national summit for jobs program” and a “national summit on power, water and public transport” to rally the support of the people.

“The TUCP believes that all sectors of society will rally behind the President once he takes the cudgels for the real issues that plague the country today: unemployment, the power crisis, the impending water crisis and the public-transport breakdown,” TUCP Executive Director Luis Corral said in a statement.

The TUCP appeals to Mr. Aquino not to be distracted by the political noise and get down to the task at hand of creating decent jobs and addressing power, water and mass-transport problems.

“It is the President who has a mandate. He has only to convene all groups so that they—and not the proxy poor, the proxy peasant and the proxy marginalized—can speak for themselves. Currently, the jobless see themselves as without hope. And ordinary consumers see apathy from government as the days without power, without water and rolling coffin trains creep upon them,” Corral stressed.

He said even as the clogged ports has led to some 20,000 workers both in the forward and backward supply chain being laid off, ordinary workers risk death and amputation everyday as they take the dilapidated trains daily.

On the other hand, the National Water and Resources Board is playing deaf, even as the El Niño Phenomenon threatens water supply for drinking purposes, agricultural use and electricity generation, he added.

“These are the problems where we need the President to inspire us, to rally us toward collective solutions, especially where collective sacrifice is needed. The political noise of naysayers and the gimmickry of apologists is not a substitute for presidential leadership,” TUCP Spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.

“Let us focus on the task at hand, and have the President convene and lead summits to address job creations so that workers can feed their families; a summit to ensure reliable and affordable power so that industries can grow, reliable water so that we can live lives with some dignity and mass transport that unclogs our roads and delivers both people and goods safely to their destinations.”

TUCP insisted that a national summit on jobs and also on consumer issues will catalyze the silent majority, who placed their trust in an Aquino presidency. - Jonathan L. Mayuga /Business Mirror

President urged to convene summit on water crisis

The country’s largest labor group urged President Aquino to convene a National Summit, which will discuss solutions for national economic problems, particularly the imminent water shortage next summer.

In a statement, Trade Union Congress of Philippines (TUCP) Executive Director Luis Corral said other issues which should also be included in the proposed meeting would be the looming power shortage, public transportation woes, and the still significantly high unemployment rate in the country.

“Aquino should get down to the task at hand, creating decent jobs and squelching the deficit in power, water and mass transport,” Corral said.

TUCP issued the statement yesterday amid the apparent lack of government preparation for the imminent calamity.

“The high officialdom is playing deaf to the cries of the National Water and Resources Board (NWRB) that El Niño threatens our water supply for drinking purposes, agricultural use and electricity generation,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

Water concessionaires earlier warned they may resort to water rationing by next year as the levels in the Angat, which supplies the water in Metro Manila, is expected to further decline with the onset of the El Niño weather phenomenon before the end of 2014.

“The TUCP believes that all sectors of society will rally behind the President once he takes the cudgels for the real issues that plague the country today,” he said.

Corral said the proposed summit would yield better recommendations compared to some of his advisers from the organization, which are “proxy poor, the proxy peasant and the proxy marginalized” as well as those, who want to “lead the country from behind.”

“We appeal to the President not to be distracted by those who wish to waylay economic gains and not to be hijacked by those who wish to take advantage of him when too much of his political capital is being wasted in the legal equivalent of saloon brawls,” Corral said. - Manila Bulletin / Yahoo