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Bayan Muna proposes free funeral services for ‘extremely poor’ families

Bayan Muna called for the fast-tracking of a bill aimed at giving substantial discounts for funeral services for the poor.

As high inflation rates affect even the dead, House Bill 3028 should be immediately passed to give indigent families a 50 percent discount in funeral services, Bayan Muna explained.

Authored by Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate, the proposed measure aims to alleviate the rising costs of services due to the Rodrigo Duterte government’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, the group added.

Hindi lang mga buhay ang nasasagasaan ng TRAIN, pero pati mga patay na rin. Sa minimum ay tumaas ng P1,000 ang funeral services sa ngayon, hindi pa kasama dito ang kabaong, lupa sa sementeryo at mismong pagpapalibing,” Zarate said.

“Our bill also mandates that dead persons belonging to ‘extremely poor’ families should be given free funeral services,” he added.

The government announced that inflation rates in the third quarter of the year has risen to more than six percent, driving prices of goods and services higher.

Bayan Muna said the House of Representatives shall tackle the proposed measure when it resumes its session this month.

“We hope that the House leaders would also fast track the bill’s passage so that poor families would not have to shell out more just to bury their loved ones. They are already grieving from their lost, it is doubly tragic that they should also be burdened to bury their dead,” Zarate said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

IBON — Php238 NCR wage hike doable without worsening inflation

As the Metro Manila regional wage board deliberates a minimum wage hike for later this month, research group IBON said that a much-needed Php238 minimum wage increase is possible and need not be inflationary.

Millions of Filipino workers including in the National Capital Region (NCR) are burdened by high prices of goods and services.

The group said that the wage hike is possible and will not be inflationary if only companies are willing to take a small cut in their profits.

The government can meanwhile support smaller establishments to be able to afford the wage increase.

The purchasing power of poor and middle income households in NCR is eroding due to high inflation this year on top of the accumulated erosion from inflation in previous years.

At the national level, IBON estimates that the country’s poorest 14 million households have already lost anywhere from Php1,800 to Php4,725 cumulatively from January to September this year because of inflation.

The erosion in purchasing power in NCR is likely to be even greater. Monthly inflation in the first nine months of the year averages 5.0 percent nationwide but is higher at 5.6% percent in NCR.

IBON said that NCR firms have more than enough profits to support a Php238 minimum wage hike.

The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) reports that NCR firms (with 20 and over employees) had combined profits of Php903 billion in 2015 while giving an average daily basic pay (ADBP) of Php530.

Using ADBP as a proxy for workers’ wages, raising the NCR minimum wage to Php750 and ensuring that workers get this will cost just Php132 billion which is just 14.6 percent of their profits.

In effect, NCR firms can pay the Php750 minimum wage and not have to pass this on to consumers as higher prices if they accept a slight cut in their profits.

Large corporations can readily give this substantial wage hike, said the group, but government should ensure assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) so that they can afford this.

This can come in the form of tax breaks and incentives, cheap credit, subsidized fuel and utilities, and technology and marketing support, among others.

IBON added that the large wage hike is also justified by growing worker productivity.

Between 2009 and 2017, labor productivity in NCR grew by 35 percent from Php456,059 per worker to Php614,297.

However, that same period, the real value of the mandated minimum wage only increased by 11 percent and of ADBP by 16 percent, both measured in real terms at constant 2012 prices.

This implies that a large part of productivity gains go to employers as profits rather than to workers as higher wages.

IBON stressed that it is more urgent than ever in these times of economic crisis for the government to ensure the poorest working class Filipinos do not suffer needlessly and for those with the capacity to adjust, such as enterprises and the wealthy, to contribute to a more equitable economy. #

Oras Na

ni Rene Boy Abiva

 

Dinggin mo ang bulong sa bayan na yaon-

ang nakatutulig na iyak ng mga sanggol na gutom at uhaw

ang animo’y kulog na lumagapak na atungal

at alulong ng mga inang balo

habang nakaluhod sa harapan ng mga batong santo at kahoy na krus.

 

Nawa’y sa pagdampi ng katotohanang ito’y mabuo ang ‘yong pasya

na lipulin ang mga galamay ng Haring Pugita

gayundin ang patuyuin ang bukal ng kanilang ubod nang itim na kaluluwa.

 

Nawa’y sa pagsanib ng naipong himutok at himagsik sa ‘yong kaibuturan

ay mahanap mo ang ‘yong sarili sa piling ng mga laging api.

At kung mangyari man ‘tong ganap ay oras na

upang ika’y gumising sa dati mong kabaliwan

na ang hangganan ng mundo’y nagtatapos lamang

sa abot-tanaw ng ‘yong hubad na mata.

 

Oktubre 8, 2018
Lunsod ng Queson, Maynila  

‘Trabaho, serbisyo, paninirahan’

“Kaming mga maralita, ang panawagan namin ay trabaho na may sapat na sahod, gayundin ang serbisyong panlipunan—lalong-lalo na ang disenteng paninirahan.”—Bea Arellano, Chairperson, Kadamay

Inflation worsening: Gov’t should act fast as households’ incomes hemorrhage

Research group IBON said that inflation has not tapered off as government projected but has accelerated in September, highlighting government’s continued neglect in addressing rapidly rising prices of goods and services.

The group said that government continues to push failed neoliberal measures, while feigning concern for Filipino families struggling with a quickly falling purchasing power.

Sonny Africa, IBON executive director, said, “The purchasing power of Filipino families continues to fall because the Duterte administration is more concerned about managing the political backlash of rising prices than genuinely addressing the burden on the country’s poorest families.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the headline inflation rate accelerated to 6.7 percent year-on-year in September 2018, higher than the 6.4 percent in August.

Africa said that this is also more than double the 3.0 percent in the same period last year and over five times the 1.3 percent in June 2016 at the start of the Duterte administration.

The inflation rate for the poorest 30 percent of families is however likely even higher and some 8.5 percent or more.

Africa said that inflation has not moderated because the government refuses to suspend implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law or to implement price ceilings on basic necessities and prime commodities.

“Doing these would have sent a strong signal of the administration’s sincerity in addressing rising prices and would bring immediate relief for tens of millions of Filipinos,” stated Africa.

Instead, inflation has already eaten up thousands of pesos in the purchasing power of the incomes of the poorest households who are already under-consuming and have low standards of living as it is.

Africa estimated that each of the country’s poorest 30 percent of households have lost at least Php1,800 to Php2,916 already from the start of the year until September due to inflation.

These are households assumed to be earning some Php12,835 or less monthly.

Less poor and middle income households have also seen their purchasing power eroded.

The next 30 percent of households have lost Php3,418 to Php4,725 since the start of the year.

These are the households earning up to around Php21,119 monthly.

IBON estimates the erosion of purchasing power by deflating household incomes with reported monthly inflation rates.

The impact on the poorest households is also underestimated by the unavailability of inflation rates for low income groups.

The administration has been promoting measures such as importation of agriculture products and the public utility vehicle modernization as ways to mitigate high inflation.

But Africa said that these government measures are tepid because the economic managers only see the numbers as cold statistics and callously insist that the situation is manageable.

“The measures are weak, slow to take effect and oblivious to the worsening conditions of tens of millions of the poorest Filipinos,” said Africa.

Africa also said that lower inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) may reflect how the government is just managing the political impact of inflation.

“Reported NCR inflation of only 6.3 percent could be because the administration diverted food supplies to NCR to lower food prices here but at the expense of the regions,” said Africa.

Food inflation in non-food producing NCR is conspicuously moderated. There was a just 0.6 percentage point increase in NCR versus 1.5 percentage point increase outside NCR, and 1.2 increase nationwide.

“The government should provide real relief to millions of poor Filipinos and middle class. This includes immediate price controls, stopping TRAIN’s consumption taxes, and a meaningful wage hike. Steps must also be taken to strengthen domestic agriculture and Filipino industry,” he said. #

 

Rate hike for Maynilad customers approved: Looming increase in water rates to burden consumers more

Amid soaring prices, the MWSS Board of Trustees has given the nod to higher water rates for Maynilad Water Systems Inc.

This and impending Manila Water Company, Inc. rate increases are bound to burden consumers anew, said water rights group Water for the People Network (WPN).

WPN urged the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System-Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) to suspend the hike so as not to aggravate the difficulty of millions of low-income families in spending for their basic needs.

Approved by the MWSS Board is a Php5.73/cubic meter (cu. m.) hike for Maynilad as proposed by the MWSS-RO.

Meanwhile, the proposed increase for  Manila Water rates is Php6.26-Php6.55/cu. m.), which is set for deliberation within the month.

These figures are the supposed results of the rate rebasing process.

Every five years, government determines new water rates according to its review of the water companies’ petitioned rates vis a vis their past and projected expenses throughout the concession period.

Purportedly in consideration of consumers’ inflation woes, the MWSS-RO proposed for the increases to be collected in tranches, starting in October.

Maynilad’s approved rate hike schedule begins at a weighted average of Php0.90/ cu. m.

Manila Water’s rate hike begins at a weighted average of Php1.50.

WPN however said that regardless of the scheduled tranches, any addition to current expenses further constricts spending for poor households.

This includes millions of families whose incomes already fall way below the Php995 Family Living Wage (FLW) for a family of five. The daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) totals Php512.

MWSS-RO computes that this October, the bills of households covered by Maynilad will increase by a net amount of Php6.53 for households consuming average 15 cu. m. per month and a net amount of Php13.68 for households consuming average 25 cu. m. per month.

For Manila Water customers consuming the same average volumes of water, rates increase by a net amount of Php9.68 and Php20.30, respectively.

Aside from the basic charge, however, WPN noted that the all-in tariff includes other fees such as the foreign currency differential adjustment (FCDA), environmental charge, and the value-added tax (VAT).

All-in tariffs are already at Php48.03/cu. m. for Maynilad and Php36.40/cu. m. for Manila Water as of July 2018.

The MWSS-RO claimed that Maynilad’s approved rate hike is much lower than the company’s Php11.00 petitioned increase, as is the RO’s recommended increase for Manila Water compared to the latter’s Php8.30 proposed hike.

This supposedly reflects the MWSS’ prohibition of the inclusion of the water firms’ corporate income tax and expenses unrelated to water services such as donations and recreation.

WPN however said that the agency’s refusal to publicly show the documents proving this–prior to the approval of the MWSS Board–underscores that the rate rebasing process lacks transparency and authentic public consultation.

During the 2013 rate rebasing process, public clamor versus the discovered inclusion of such items in water bills led to the MWSS-RO’s rejection of the water concessionaires’ petitioned rates.

Thus, per their concession agreement (CA) with the government, Maynilad and Manila Water subsequently appealed to international arbitration courts to demand compensation for lost revenues.

The courts have ruled twice in favor of Maynilad. Manila Water, which the international courts have turned down, has a pending case.

Consumers face more tariff increases in the future, WPN said, because of government’s privatization of water despite its being a public utility.

The group challenged the MWSS-RO to spare consumers of additional fees by stopping the hike.

WPN also stressed the urgency of scrapping the CA, reversing water privatization and instituting strong government regulation over all public utilities. #

Ang inyong matatamis na ngiti

Ni Ibarra Banaag

 

Sana’y di nagkamali sa treno’ng inyong sinakyan.
Nakakaaliw man at nakakabingi ang hagikgikan.
Ang sumakay ay di libre bagkus ay babayaran.
Ng buwis at inutang sa kawatang dayuhan.

Sana ay may preno ito sa pag-arangkada.
At ng di rumagasa sa mga barong- barong.
Malimas, madambong, pilak, gas at ginto.
Habang pinapatag matatayog na bundok.

Hiling ko sa pasahero ng Train 1 at 2.
Dumungaw naman kayo sa bintana ng bagon.
Masdan ninyo ang pumipila sa palabigasan.
Habulin niyo ng tingin ang mga Inang luhaan.

Sana’y maalimpungatan sa liliw ng bangungot.
Hindi dilaw ang buhay at dugo na nangalalagas.
Hindi pula ang naghahangad ng pagkawasak
Kundi ang uring sumasaklot sa katarungan.

Sa tuloy tuloy na pagragasa ng inyong tren.
Hindi lang puno ang nabubuwal kundi buhay.
Hindi lang ilog ang natutuyo kundi lalamunan
Hind lang burol ang napapatag kundi komunidad.

Hindi kalaban sa politika ang nakukulong.
Ang nasa piitan ay demokrasya at kamangmangan.
Hindi katungali sa eleksyon ang nasa bilibid.
Kundi ang kalayaan sa isang makatarungan lipunan.

Ako sa inyo ay may isang panalangin.
Na ‘wag maunsyami ang inyong pagbubunyi.
Kung kayo na ang biktima ng panggigipit.
Tumimbwang at sabihin kayo’y nanlaban.

                  –Setyembre 26, 2018

‘Sobra ang dagok’

“Dati, itong pechay-baguio, ang kuha namin ay nasa P90 lang. Ngayon, nasa P150 na. ‘Yung repolyo, dati P80. Ngayon, P180 na. Sobrang laki ang itinaas, kaya sobra rin ang nararamdaman namin na dagok.”–Mang Ricky, tindero ng gulay, Sitio San Roque, Quezon City

Jobs crisis getting worse under Duterte gov’t – IBON

Research group IBON said that the jobs crisis in the country is getting more severe under the Duterte administration.

The group said that the government should be more forthright and admit growing economic insecurity from inflation and joblessness rather than keep trying to downplay this.

Millions of Filipinos are jobless, including those excluded from official unemployment figures, or have jobs but endure poor quality work.

IBON said there are less jobs available now compared to the start of the Duterte administration.

The number of employed Filipinos has fallen by 295,000 from 40.95 million in July 2016 to just 40.67 million in July 2018.

This is largely due to a huge 1.8 million drop in agricultural employment over that period.

Job losses and expensive food characterize the crisis in the agricultural sector.

IBON pointed out that job creation in the rest of the economy was not enough to compensate for the huge job losses especially in agriculture.

There were gross job losses of 2.2 million between July 2016 and July 2018 but only 1.9 million in gross job creation, hence the 295,000 drop in the number of employed.

Moreover, the group said, the biggest job generation is in sectors that do not necessarily indicate a strong economy.

The largest part of additional employment since July 2016 was in the public sector where 500,000 jobs were created, followed by construction with 393,000 in likely mostly short-term work.

These were followed by 269,000 jobs in manufacturing which is potentially important but barely 14 percent of gross job creation in the last two years.

IBON stressed that net job creation in the economy is feeble. Only 488,000 additional jobs were generated in July 2018 from the year before.

This is less than the 701,000 jobs created on average annually in the decade 2006-2015 prior to the Duterte administration.

It was also not enough to make up for the huge 783,000 jobs lost in July 2017 from the last year, hence net job losses since the start of the administration.

This crisis is obscured in the official statistics because millions of discouraged workers are no longer counted as unemployed even if they are jobless and are just statistically dropped from the labor force, said the group.

Combined with the effect of K-12 implementation in senior high school (SHS) since 2016, the labor force participation rate has dropped to 60.1 percent in July 2018 which is the lowest in 36 years or since 1982.

There are also signs that the quality of work is drastically worsening, said IBON.

The number of under-employed, or those with jobs but seeking additional work, increased by 464,000 in July 2018 from the year before to reach 7 million.

The underemployment rate has correspondingly risen to 17.2 percent from 16.3 percent last year.

The current jobs crisis consists of the millions of jobless Filipinos including those who are no longer officially counted as unemployed and the millions of Filipinos who have jobs but suffer poor quality work that is not enough to live securely and decently.

As it is, IBON conservatively estimates at least 11.3 million unemployed (4.3 million) and underemployed (7.0 million) Filipinos as of July 2018 which is one in four (25 percent) of the labor force.

IBON said that amid skyrocketing prices and inflation, it is more urgent than ever to ensure sustainable and decent employment for millions of Filipinos.

The only long-term solution is for the government to invest in genuinely developing domestic agriculture and Filipino industries. #

Government losing control of economy –IBON

The Duterte administration is losing control over the Philippine economy and the poorest Filipinos are suffering for this, research group IBON said upon the release of the August inflation rate.

The greatly accelerating inflation is only the latest in a series of bad economic news about the economy’s so-called fundamentals.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the headline inflation rate in August 2018 accelerated to 6.4 percent or its highest in almost a decade from 5.7 percent in July.

This is more than double the 2.6 percent inflation in August 2017.

Inflation was highest in alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics at 21.6 percent year-on-year but inflation also worsened among food and non-alcoholic beverages, especially vegetables (19.2 percent), corn (12.6 percent), and fish (12.4 percent).

Meanwhile, from July to August 2018, steepest inflation occurred in vegetables (4.9 percent) and rice (2.1 percent).

IBON said that the rapid rise in food prices hits poor families the worst because food takes up a greater portion of their expenditure compared to higher income families.

The bottom 30 percent income group spends 59.7 percent of their expenditures on food, compared to just 30 percent for the upper 70 percent income group based on the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey.

IBON estimates that the poorest six deciles of Filipino families with monthly incomes ranging from Php7,724 to Php21,119 have suffered income losses of around Php1,455 to Php3,781 due to inflation from January to August this year.

Other indicators of macroeconomic fundamentals are no better, IBON said.

The high August inflation comes on the heels of second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth which was the slowest in 12 quarters, the peso falling to its lowest in 13 years, first semester remittance growth the slowest in 17 years, trade and balance of payments deficits the worst in the country’s history, and gross international reserves (GIR) that are the lowest in nine years.

IBON added that the more rapid inflation means that prices are higher than ever and will remain high even if inflation tapers off in the coming months as government projects.

The government needs to become more decisive in addressing increasingly unaffordable goods and services, IBON said, adding immediate and longer term measures can be taken.

The most immediate is to stop implementation of the TRAIN law and particularly its inflationary consumption taxes, IBON stressed.

This will not arrest inflation completely but it will take away the most recent inflationary pressure that is also the one most directly within the government’s control. The government can also consider price controls, said the group.

The president has the authority to impose price controls not just in the case of calamities but also when there is illegal price manipulation and if prices of basic commodities are already deemed at unreasonable levels, it said.

The long-term solution however, IBON underscored, is to strengthen domestic agriculture and Filipino industry. These are essential to provide cheaper food, goods and services in the domestic market. This will also lessen imports and lower pressure on the peso to depreciate.

The group also said that another solution is to reverse the privatization or commercialization of water, power, education and health to take away the profit premium making these services more expensive.

These are steps that the Duterte administration’s economic managers hinder due to their stubborn adherence to failed neoliberal policies, said IBON.#