Election 2007
COMELEC obviously in denial
Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) today assailed claims of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines that the conduct of the elections was 'generally fair and peaceful'
Arroyo abuses presidential immunity to promote bribery
Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno said that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is hiding behind presidential immunity while insinuating vote buying with her promise to enact tax exemption for minimum wage earners if workers vote for candidates of the administration's Team Unity. "She cannot
buy off votes by simply giving empty promises to workers. We warn her not to insult the workers' intellect and capacity as responsible voters."
Wage hike, workers issues “too hot to handle” for Senate bets
“Wage hike and workers issues are too hot to handle. This is the reason why Senate bets remain mum on these issues because none so far has the backbone to tackle the working peoples cause.”
This was the observation made today by Lito Ustarez, Executive-Vice Chairperson of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Labor Center. According to the labor leader, less than a month remains before election day yet none has shown the gall to engage in the debate on issues of workers.
Labor Center welcomes EU election observers, but says they may be too late
The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Labor Center welcomed the idea of election observers coming from the European Union who wants to see "fair, transparent, orderly and peaceful elections" in the Philippines but warned that they may be “searching for gold at the end of the rainbow.”
“If the EU observers will only arrive come the month of May, they will only see the tip of the iceberg of election-related violence which has been hounding Philippine politics for decades,” stated Lito Ustarez, Executive Vice-President of the KMU.
Election campaign based on the economy starting to backfire
“Consciously avoiding discussion on her human rights record and issues of legitimacy and corruption, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s campaign pitch for the mid-term elections was the economy but instead of getting more votes, the campaign based on economic indicators is starting to backfire on administration candidates. With surveys showing a 19% hunger incidence and more than half of Filipinos rating themselves poor, along with 12% Reformed Value Added Tax (RVAT), these economic issues are definitely monkeys on Arroyo’s back.”
