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Labor movement hails, welcomes back ‘JoMag’

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Never has a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) official been unanimously hailed and defended by the labor movement as Joel Maglunsod.

As when they issued a joint manifesto against labor-only contracting last year and jointly commemorated International Labor Day in May 1 this year, the country’s major labor groups were again united, this time in defending the official they fondly call “JoMag”.

They said President Rodrigo Duterte made a mistake when he fired Maglunsod.

The last prominent Leftist in the Rodrigo Duterte regime was unceremoniously fired by President Rodrigo Duterte in a speech before soldiers in Camp Sumuroy in Catarman, Northern Samar Tuesday, October 2.

“[Si] Joel Maglunsod, pinaalis ko. Pinagbigyan ko sila noong bago ako  kasi gusto ko nandoon sila sa opisina, Joel Maglunsod, sila lahat,” Duterte said, adding the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) that Maglunsod served as vice president for Mindanao and national secretary general is “paralyzing the economy” with labor strikes.

The labor movement, however, defended Maglunsod once again.

“Maglunsod has worked for the mass inspection of violations on labor only contracting and other labor standards and occupational health and safety violations that resulted in favorable orders and decisions. Workers are eager to welcome back Ka Jomag in the picket-lines and marches and take part in the growing workers’ movement against Duterte’s anti-worker and tyrannical rule,” KMU chairperson Elmer Labog said in a statement.

Nagkakaisa Labor Coalition’s Rene Magtubo for his part said “President Duterte has made a major mistake in dismissing the services of Usec Jomag at the DOLE only to heed the advice of the military and anti-worker elements of his administration.”

“In his short stint as undersecretary of labor for industrial relations, he has bridged 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,” Magtubo added.

The Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) for its part said it was wrong for Duterte to fire Maglunsod over the escalating labor unrest in the country, adding the official was labor’s closest ally in the DOLE.

“Ironically, the labor unrest now spooking employers and even the military was largely caused by Mr. Duterte’s failure to live up to his promise of ending contractualization,” Sentro leader Josua Mata said.

“Obviously, Usec JoeMag is being sacrificed to prop up the sagging image of Mr. Duterte,” Mata added.

Even the Association of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) hailed Maglunsod’s achievements sa labor undersecretary.

“Jomag was always ready to listen and work out solutions to workers in trouble with their employers,” ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

“Jomag was the key DOLE official in helping move the very important security of tenure bill. He was also a key DOLE official in regularizing thousands of ‘endo’ (contractual) workers become regular workers,” Tanjusay explained.

Maglunsod, along with former social work and development secretary Judy Taguiwalo, agrarian reform secretary Rafael Mariano, anti-poverty commission lead convenor Liza Maza, and urban poor commission chairperson Terry Ridon were known progressives appointed to high positions in the Duterte Cabinet when he won the presidency in 2016.

He was a KMU member in Davao City who rose to become its chapter president eventually becoming its national secretary general for many years. Prior to being appointed to the DOLE, he was KMU vice president for political and external affairs.

He also served as Anakpawis Representative to Congress where he once grabbed news headlines when refused entry through the members’ gate because the guards saw him alight from a jeepney.

KMU’s Labog said that workers are eager to welcome back Ka Jomag in the picket-lines and marches and take part in the growing workers’ movement against Duterte’s anti-worker and tyrannical rule.

Both Maglunsod and the DOLE have yet to reply to Kodao’s request for statements. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Mga manggagawa, nagmartsa sa Araw ng mga Bayani

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Nagsama-sama ang libu-libong manggagawa sa Araw ng mga Bayani sa tinaguriang nilang “Martsa ng Manggagawa” noong Agosto 27 mula Welcome Rotonda hanggang sa Mendiola sa Maynila.

Panawagan nila na itigil na ang kontraktwalisasyon sa paggawa, ipatupad ang pambansang minimum na sahod na P750, at wakasan ang iba pang porma ng pagsasamantala sa manggagawa.

Ayon sa Kilos na Manggagawa (KnM), sa nakalipas na dalawang taon, umabot na sa 40 milyon na manggagawa sa buong bansa ay kontraktwal.

Karamihan sa mga ito ay nasa sektor ng manupaktura at serbisyo na tumatanggap din nang napakababang sahod o mas mababa pa sa minimum na sahod.

Isang halimbawa dito ay sa Southern Tagalog na umabot sa mahigit 20,000 ang kontraktwal.

Dagdag pasakit din sa mga manggagawa ang mga patakaran na ipinataw nang gubyernong Rodrigo Duterte tulad ng Department Order 174 at Executive Order 51 na sa katunayan ay nagpapatindi lamang ng iskemang endo.

Dagdag pa nang KnM, malaking dagok din ang TRAIN law na siyang bumubutas sa bulsa at kita ng mga manggagawa.

Habang binabarat ang sahod, patuloy naman na pinahihirapan ang mamamayan sa mga dagdag bayarin at buwis.

Binigyang-pugay din nila ang mga manggagawa na siyang tunay na bayani at tagalikha ng yaman.

Malaking hamon naman sa mga manggagawa na labanan ang tumitinding atake sa mga manggagawa kagaya nang pambubuwag sa mga unyon, pagpaslang at pagsasampa ng mga gawa-gawang kaso sa mga lider unyonista. # (Ulat at bidyo ni Joseph Cuevas)

PLDT

/in /by

ni Rene Boy Abiva

 

Hindi ko alam kung saan yari ang iyong kaluluwa

kung ‘to ba’y yari sa sala-salabat na old fiber

o sa ipinagmamayabang mong new wireless fiber.

‘Di ko lubos maisip kung tao ka pa nga ba

at kung bakit ni katiting na hibla ng awa

ay ‘di mo kayang maibigay sa higit pitong libong manggagawa.

 

Gaya na lamang ni Atong Alagwa

na sampung taon mong pinagbuhat at pinaghila

ng dambuhalang bakal, kawad at linya.

Na kung umuwi’y turing nang biyaya

kung mai-abot nang buo ang sweldo sa may sakit na asawa.

 

At mukhang nag-iinis ka pa

sa bawat imaheng ‘yong ipinapakita

sa telebisyon, tabloyd at billboard sa mga kalsada

gaya na lamang sa mukha

ni Pia Wurtzbach at Kris Aquino na ngangang-nganga

habang sa gilid ay naka-ukit sa lona

ang mga katagang DSL, hacker at ultera.

 

Gaya mo rin pala ang NutriAsia,

na kung toyoin ang manggagawa’y anong saya.

Punyeta’t sarap na sarap pa,

sarap na sarap na binuwag ang barikada!

gayong sing-alat na ng patis at asim ng suka

ang pawis at luha

ni Aling Leticia.

 

Suma total ay gaya mo si Digong

who cares about human lives

but not human rights.

At ngayon sinasabi mong ‘yong babaguhin ang mundo?

Sa pamamaraang may iiyak at magugutom

hanggang sa sukdulan ng pagdanak ng dugo

at pag-atungal ng libo-libong balo.

 

At ngayong pinaboran ng DOLE ang mga manggagawa

sa unang pagkakatao’y anong ligaya nila,

ngunit anong kapal mo’t umaangal ka pa?!

hanggang islogan ka lang pala!

 

 

Agosto 1, 2018

Lunsod ng Queson, Maynila

152 OFWs get Dubai exit pass; 88 home by August 15

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By Angel Tesorero in Dubai / Raymund B. Villanueva in Manila

Dubai, UAE – A total of 152 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were given an exit pass in the first three working days (August 1, 2 and 5) of the 90-day immigration amnesty program, Philippine consul-general to Dubai Paul Raymund Cortes said Tuesday.

An estimated hundreds of thousand dirhams of overstaying fines were waived by the UAE government while the Philippine Consulate paid for the exit permits, including the Dh221 for an outpass and Dh521 fee for lifting of the absconding case to clear the name of the overstaying expat from the immigration list and letting the person return to the UAE without travel ban.

The Philippine Consulate also booked one-way tickets (DXB-MNL) for the returning Filipinos.

“Out of the 152 amnesty-seekers, 93 were given free tickets; the rest were not aware that we are providing them with free tickets. Some of them have both tickets a month before. Unfortunately, we cannot refund the fare due to restrictions in the Philippine government auditing rules,” Cortes said.

He explained that booking should be done by the Philippine Consulate.

OFW Fernando Pacheho holding his UAE exit pass. (Photo by Angel L. Tesorero)

Cortes added that out of the 93 who were given free tickets, five are minors who will travel with their respective guardians and the travel expenses of the guardians will also be shouldered by the Philippine government.

The first batch of 88 returning Filipinos will fly out of Dubai on August 15 via Philippine Airlines flight PR 659 which will take off from DXB Terminal 1 at 7:35pm and arrive 8.15am the following day (Manila time) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, where they will be met by officials from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Cortes pegged the cost of sending home an overstaying Filipino at Dh2,200 each, including the cost of air fare and exit permits.

Dubai newspaper Khaleej Times earlier reported that, according to a source at the Philippine Consulate, around 5,000 overstaying Filipinos are expected to avail of the amnesty program and would probably go back home.

At a cost of Dh2,200 (fees and plane ticket) per person, the Philippine government is set to shell out at least Dh11m, which will be taken from the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) funds.

Cortes added that an undisclosed amount of welfare assistance will be provided to the returning Filipinos while the DFA officials in Manila will assist them in their travel from the airport to their respective hometowns or provinces.

“We are glad that the first of batch of Filipinos are finally going home and will be reunited with their loved ones and respective families. We are very happy that the UAE government has given them a chance to return to the Philippines through the amnesty program by waiving the overstaying fees. We at the Philippine Consulate are also happy to be part of bringing our kababayans (compatriots) back home through the DFA funding,” Cortes said.

He added: “We want to assure our kababayans that all assistance will be given to them to the fullest extent. And for those who will prefer to stay in the country and rectify their residency status, we will also provide them with utmost assistance in the documentation of their papers. But we would like to remind them to fulfill the necessary documents such as birth certificate to get a passport.”

PH government welcomes amnesty

In Manila, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) claimed 100,000 overseas Filipino workers would benefit from UAE’s amnesty declaration for overstaying foreign workers.

An expected 87,706 undocumented and overstaying Filipino workers are expected to apply for amnesty in Abu Dhabi and around 14,400 in Dubai, DOLE reported.

The amnesty program is effective from August to the end of October.

Those who wish to rectify their illegal status may be given assistance at the Philippine Embassy in the UAE as well as at Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, DOLE said.

DOLE said there are 646,258 documented OFWs in UAE, 224,572 of whom are in Abu Dhabi while 421,686 are in Dubai.

In light with this, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III called on overstaying as well as beleaguered OFWs to rectify their status in the Emirates or seek voluntary repatriation back to the Philippines.

“Our government is ready to help them if they wish to go back home,” Bello said.

OFWs who will seek voluntary repatriation will receive assistance from Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), including airport at cash assistance as well as overseas or local employment referral, livelihood assistance, legal at conciliation service, competency assessment at training assistance under DOLE’s Assist WELL (Welfare, Employment, Legal and Livelihood) Program. # (Photo by AL Tesorero)

UP holds Black Friday Protest vs NutriAsia violence

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Students of the University of the Philippines denounced the violent dispersal of striking workers by condiment manufacturer NutriAsia in a Black Friday Protest last August 3.

The students said the Rodrigo Duterte government is equally liable for the violence on the workers and their supporters as the incident is symptomatic of intensifying state fascism all over the country. (Video by Mark Kenneth Solanoy)

Patuloy ang welga ng mga manggagawa ng CoreAsia

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Ni Joseph Cuevas

Valenzuela City—Binisita ng International Solidarity Mission (ISM) at mga taong simbahan ang piketlayn ng mga manggagawa ng CoreAsia Paper Mills sa Bagbaguin sa Valenzuela City. Doon nakawelga ang halos 50 na manggagawa na tinanggal nang management matapos magtayo ng unyon.

Ayon kay Joseph Lorico, Internal Vice-President nang Pinagkaisang Lakas ng mga Manggagawa ng CoreAsia, hindi makatarungan ang pagtanggal sa kanila sa trabaho dahil sa piket protesta at welga simula noong Hulyo 2.

Samu’t-saring mga isyu ang inirereklamo ng mga manggagawa bago magwelga. Nariyan ang napakababang sahod para sa mga pahinante at drayber ng pagawaan na umaabot lamang sa P280 kada araw, gayundin ang sobrang habang oras na pagtratrabaho na aabot sa 10 hanggang 15 oras.

Dagdag pa ni Lorico, kahit ang pagpapagamot ay sila pa ang gumasgastos at nag-aayos. May isang insidente na halos maputol ang kamay ng isang manggagawa dahil naipit ito sa makina subalit siya pa ang nagasikaso ng kanyang SSS (Social Security Sytem) benefit.

Higit pa rito, ayon sa lider manggagawa, ipinapatupad ng CoreAsia ang sistemang kontraktwal. Sa halos 108 manggagawa, kalahati sa kanila ay kontraktwal at nakapaloob sa mga agency. Sapilitan din silang pinagresign nang kanilang iputok ang welga. Ginamit ng kumpanya ang Pulis Valenzuela na kumbinsihin sila na itigil na ang welga at magbubukas naman uli diumano ito sa katapusan ng Hulyo—isang malinaw na union busting o pambubuwag sa unyon ayon kay Lorico.

Dumagsa naman ang ibat-ibang grupo para suportahan at tulungan ang mga nagwewelgang manggagawa. Lumapit na din sila sa Department of Labor and Employement para makipag-ugnayan sa kaso nila, katuwang ang kanilang abugado.

Sa kanilang bisita, inalam ng ISM ang tunay na kalagayan ng mga manggagawa sa ilalim ng gubyernong Rodrigo Duterte. Nalaman nila na nagpapatuloy ang kontraktwalisasyon sa sektor ng paggawa sa kabila ng pangako ng pangulong agarang tatapusin ang kontraktuwalisasyon. Dagdag pa, nalaman ng ISM na nagsasabwatan ang mga kapitalista at pulisya upang labagin ang karapatan ng mga manggagawa na maglunsad ng protesta o welga para sa mga demokratikong panawagan, tulad ng kasiguruhan sa trabaho, tamang pasahod at ligtas na pagawaan.

Ayon sa mga manggagawa, inihanda na nila ang kanilang mga sarili sa kung anuman ang kahihitnan ng kanilang laban. Naniniwala sila na mananaig ang panawagan nilang makabalik sa trabaho at maging inspirasyon sila sa kapwa manggagawa na lumaban at nanindigan para sahod, trabaho at karapatan.

Ang CoreAsia ay pagmamay-ari ng kapitalistang si Chris Chua. Ito ay paggawaan ng cores and tubes ng toilet paper gayundin paste board, sheeted paper at iba pang produktong yari sa papel. #

TRAIN-driven rising cost of living makes wage hike urgent

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Research group IBON said that tax-driven inflation is making the meager wages of poor Filipinos fall even further behind the rising cost of living.

The group said this makes it even more urgent for the government to immediately raise wages even as it revisits the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law behind the increase in consumption taxes.

The Duterte administration would be insensitive if it continues to resist the clamor for a decent national minimum wage, the group added.

IBON said that accelerating inflation has increased the family living wage (FLW) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and elsewhere.

IBON computations show that as of June 2018, a family of six needs Php1,175 to meet their basic needs, while a family of five needs Php979.

The FLW has increased by Php65 for a family of six and by Php54 for a family of five in June 2018 from the same period last year.

As it is, said the group, the NCR nominal minimum wage of Php512 is falling even further behind the rising cost of living.

The NCR nominal wage is only 44 percent of the FLW for a family of six, and 52% of the FLW for a family of five with a wage gap of Php663 (56 percent) and Php467 (48 percent), respectively.

The wage gap will continue to widen as inflation erodes the minimum wage.

Reacting to economic planning secretary Ernesto Pernia who said that a wage hike is not necessary, the group said that an immediate wage hike will help poor Filipinos cope with price spikes.

The Duterte administration can respond to the demand of labor groups for a Php750 national minimum wage.

IBON stressed that there are enough profits in the economy and among corporations to support the substantial increase in the minimum wage needed by workers and their families.

IBON also belied claims by the country’s economic managers in their joint statement on the June 2018 inflation that TRAIN’s reduction of personal income taxes, cash transfers, and allocation for free social and economic services “should help in coping with the rising prices of goods.”

The group said that their assertion that TRAIN “increased the take-home pay of 99 percent of income tax payers” is grossly deceitful because they know that only around 7.5 million or one-third (33 percent) of Filipino families are income tax payers.

Of these, some two million were already exempt from paying income tax even before TRAIN because they were only minimum wage earners.

This means that 17.2 million or over three-fourths (76 percent) of Filipino families suffer inflation but without any increased take-home pay.

IBON also said that the government should stop hyping TRAIN’s cash transfers because when they are ended by 2020 the higher prices of goods and services due to TRAIN will remain.

The group said that the Duterte administration’s unrepentant defense of TRAIN is daily affirmation of its callousness to the plight of tens of millions of poor Filipinos and its refusal to replace TRAIN with a more genuinely progressive tax package that is unafraid to tax the rich. #

 

KMU welcomes order regularizing 80 Nutri-Asia workers

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The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) order to Nutri-Asia Incorporated (NAI) to regularize 80 of its workers is an initial victory of the ongoing strike at the country’s biggest condiment manufacturer.

“This is an initial victory of the workers’ strike at Nutri-Asia. The DOLE has been forced to come out with a decision to regularize 80 contractual workers because the workers are unionized and are militantly asserting their rights,” KMU chairperson Elmer Labog told Kodao.

In a July 5 announcement, the DOLE said it has ordered NAI to regularize workers contracted through Asia Pro Multi-Purpose Cooperative (AMPC) because it is engaged in an illegal labor-only contracting agreement.

In an report issued last June 24, DOLE Region 3 director Zenaida Angara-Campita said AMPC has no capacity to buy its own equipment and machines and is a mere NAI lessee.

AMPC also has no control and supervision over its contracted workers under the agreement it entered into with NAI, he agency said.

DOLE said the NAI violated Article 106 of the Labor Code that only allows labor-only contracting when the employer has insufficient capital or investment.

The agency added that the workers are directly involved in NAI’s core business and deserve to become regular workers of the company.

The order also said that the AMPC contracted workers who are assigned at NAI’s quality control and research divisions directly work for the condiment giant’s core business.

“In view of this, DOLE orders the AMPC to desist from its illegal activity and cease going into any more contracting agreement,” the agency said.

NAI manufactures ketchup, sauces and other condiments as well as cooking oil and juices that are dominant in the local market. The multi-billion peso company also exports its popular products abroad.

1.4k more contractuals

While welcome, DOLE’s order must also order the regularization of about 1,400 NAI workers more, KMU said.

The labor federation also said NAI must be punished for violating other provisions of the Labor Code such as the non-payment of the minimum wage and other labor standards as well as occupational health and safety.

“KMU salutes the workers of Nutri-Asia for their militant struggle to become regular workers, just wages, and right to unionize and launch strikes in the face of the brutal attacks by the conniving State and big capital,” the group said.

“The strike goes on! Until all the Nutri-Asia contractual workers are made regulars, until the laid off unionists are back, the strikers will only intensify their struggle,” it added.

KMU said it is calling on all fellow workers and the public to support the strike at Nutri-Asia as well as other labor strikes all over the country. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Pampalasa, Pampa-ALSA

/in /by

ni Rene Boy Abiva

 

Sa bayang mayaman sa utang at pait,

pambulag ang artipisyal na linamnam at tamis

upang ang mga karaniwang sikmura’y ‘di mag-alsa.

 

Matamis na pampalasa ang humulma sa kabataan ni Ignas Dungrit

na iiyak-iyak kung ‘di magkukulay dugo

ang prinitong itlog ng manok o tinapa sa kanyang plato,

dahilan upang magkanda-utang-utang ang kanyang inang kubrador ng huweteng

ng Papa ketsap sa tindahan ni Aling Usyang.

Minsa’y nakapatama ang ina ni Ignas,

anong ligaya n’ ya noong una.

Kaso, nang malamang kalot ang napagwagiang taya,

anong sungit at bagsik ang kanyang simangot

na nai-ukit sa kanyang gusgusing labi at mata.

   

Gayundin si Manolito Lasenggo

na madalas bugbugin ang kanyang labanderang asawa

kung ‘di s’ya nito maipaghahanda ng sawsawang maasim-asim

para sa paborito niyang pulutang tsitsarong kropek na tingi-tingi

o tsitsarong Bulacan na tatlo ang sandaan

na madalas n’ yang bilhin

sa kumpareng tindero sa Amucao.

Mapili pa naman ang gago, kung ‘alang Datu Puti’y Silver Swan ang hanap.

Ayaw n’ya ng Rosas o Basi na gawa ng kanyang sariling bayan.

Kaya ang halos magkubang asawa sa kalalaba,

anong tatag na ini- uutangan ang mister

sa talipapa ni Aling Talin.

Minsa’y naningil ang matandang balo,

at naabutan n’ya ang lasing na si Manolito

himalang binayaran naman s’ya,

binayaran s’ya ng matatalim na limang saksak

na itinindig sa kanyang yayat at kulubot na dibdib.

Dumating ang mga pulis upang siya’ y pasukuin,

kaso nag-ala Rambo

kaya ang kinalabasan, nabalitang nanlaban at patay.

 

Pinagkakitaan ng mga artipisyal na pampalasa

ang buhay at kapalaran nilang mga karaniwang tao

mula sa pawis ng kubrador na ina ni Ignas Dungrit

at sa labanderang asawa ni Manolito

hanggang sa kamatayan ng balong si Aling Talin.

 

Ibang usapin pa ang labis na halagang nakulimbat

sa ‘sanlibo at limang daang mangagawa sa Marilao, Bulacan.

At sa higit dalawang dekada ng pag-iral,

buti pa ang kumpanyang pampalasa,

literal na ang buhay ay masaya at masagana.

E silang taga-gawa ng pampalasa,

halos magpakamatay para lamang mabuhay.

Nagtitiis sa mga barung-barong ng mga bayan-bayan.

Nagtitiis sa buhay-dagang pamumuhay

at kung kumahig ang dalawang paa at kamay,

anong pilit-ligaya nilang sikmuraing lunukin

ang nangingitim na kanin at pinakulong talbos ng kangkong

o kamote na ‘ala man lang pampalasa ni asin.

 

Subalit ‘di kayang pigilan ng artipisyal na pampalasa

ang hangganan ng pait.

 

Pampa-ALSA.

Umabot sa sukdulan ang pagtitiis ng mga manggagawa.

Hunyo 2 ay itinayo nila ang barikada.

Paano ba naman kasi, sa daan-daang pwersa sa paggawa’y

limandaan lamang ang regular at karamiha’y kontraktwal.

Mababa pa ang sahod, ‘alang over-time pay at ‘alang benepisyo

sa kung anu-anong kaltas ng kanilang amo.

Habang ‘alang awang pinagtatanggal ang ilan sa kanilang nadisgrasya

habang nasa paggawa

kabilang ang mga nagtayo at nagbuo ng unyon.

 

Nag-alsa ang mga tagapaglikha ng pampalasa.

At agad nagsabwatan ang kapitalista at mga mamamatay-tao na pulis

at yinusak-yusak ang hanay ng mga nagpoprotesta.

Marami sa kanila ang umuwing sugatan at may biyak sa noo.

Marami sa kanila ang tinutukan ng baril sa ulo.

Marami sa kanila ang pasa sa katawan ang tinamo.

Ngunit higit na mas marami ang gaya nila

ang magkakapit-bisig sa nalalapit na SONA ng pangulo.

 

Kakalantog ang mga lansangan

mula sa kanilang kolektibong lakas at malay! 

May alab na namamayani sa kanilang puso

na mas mainit pa sa nagbabagang punglo!

 —-

Hunyo 16, 2018

Lunsod ng Queson, Pilipinas

 

‘There’s no such thing as tambay culture’

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“There is no such thing as a tambay culture. That practice is a result of workers’ ways of dealing with precarious work, it’s how the jobless deal with joblessness, and joblessness as we all know is a result of a backward non-industrial economy based on export orientation and import-dependence.” —Prof. Sarah Raymundo, sociologist

A meme by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers on the issue of President Duterte’s order to the Philippine National Police to arrest loiterers in communities.