The National Union of Journalists of
the Philippines (NUJP) said it agrees with actor Robin Padilla in deploring
contractualization and reiterated its call to end the practice in all its
forms.
Reacting to Padilla’s comment on media
giant ABS-CBN’s franchise problems, the NUJP said it is one with the million of
irregular works who are still waiting for the practice to be totally
eliminated.
“That is why we also
challenge government to make contractualization and all its iterations
absolutely illegal as the President repeatedly promised in the past. The millons of contractual workers and the NUJP
are still waiting,” the media group said in a statement Friday,
February 14.
Padilla said ABS-CBN
franchise renewal advocates must take the opportunity to compel the
entertainment industry to change its working state.
“Gusto niyo pala itama ang mali, aba’y
umpisahan natin sa una. Pag-usapan muna natin ang tamang sweldo, benepisyo at
tamang oras ng trabaho ng mga kasama natin sa taping at shooting. Bago niyo
ipaglaban ang karapatan ng kumpanya, unahin niyo ‘yung tao ng kumpanya na
kasama niyo sa bawat araw sa location at ‘wag niyo proteksyunan lang ang
regular employees. Paano ‘yung hindi regular?” the Philippine Star quoted
Padilla to have said.
(If you want to correct a wrong, let
us start from the beginning. Let us talk first about our co-workers’ just
salaries, benefits, and the length of time our co-workers during tapings and
shoots. Before you defend the company, you look first at your co-workers at
locations. Do not just protect the regular workers. How about the irregular
ones?)
Padilla said he is against ABS-CBN’s
franchise renewal but called on fellow artists defending the media company to “be
real.”
“Magpagamit muna kayo sa mahihirap, sa
mga taong nagdala sa inyo sa kasikatan bago sa mga mayayaman,” Padilla, a known
supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, added.
(Be in solidarity with the poor first,
those who helped you become famous, before the rich ones.)
Duterte has repeatedly threatened to
block ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal.
Duterte’s solicitor general filed
petitions before the Supreme Court questioning how ABS-CBN implemented two of
its franchises, a move the NUJP is politically motivated.
In agreeing with
Padilla on the contractualization issue, the NUJP however asked if the actor
issued his statement in defense of current moves to close the company down.
“Doing so may be
likened to sinking an entire ship, bringing the entire crew and passengers down
along with it, rather than compeling its owners and captain to do right by
everyone,” the NUJP said.
The group said they
fear for the massive loss of livelihood if ABS-CBN would be shutdown as well as
the closure of a media company it adds is an attack to press freedom.
NUJP has repeatedly
called for an end to labor-only contracting by the entire media industry in the
Philippines. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)