[‘Araw ng Paniningil at Paglaban’] Workers to take Aquino to task for poverty on Labor Day

On Labor Day, workers and the poor will take Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to task for failing to respond to their calls, making the hunger and poverty situation in the country even worse, and exceeding the previous government’s puppetry to the US.

This was labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno’s announcement at a press conference in its office in Quezon City five days before May 1, saying it calls this year’s Labor Day “Araw ng Paniningil at Paglaban.”

“It’s time for the Filipino workers and people to take Pres. Aquino to task for making our plight even worse. He is not providing any economic relief to the people and is showing no indication that he intends to do so in the immediate future,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson.

“Aquino not only failed to improve the hunger and poverty situation in the country, he made it even worse. He did not provide any form of relief that workers and poor people have been clamoring for after suffering more than nine years under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” he said.

“Aquino’s subservience to the US is worse than that of Arroyo. He is pushing for expanded US military presence in the country and greater US military intervention into issues that are internal to the country,” he added.

KMU cited the president’s refusal to hike wages by a significant amount, promotion of contractual employment as seen in the case of the Philippine Airlines, violent demolition of urban poor communities, rejection of measures that will bring down oil prices, and opposition to land reform.

The labor center also condemned the top-level negotiation between secretaries of the US and Philippine governments scheduled at the end of the month, which observers say will seal the expansion of US bases in the country.

“We are calling on the Filipino workers and people to vent out their frustrations and anger at the Aquino government and join our protests on Labor Day. We have every right to take Aquino to task for failing to respond to our calls and making our situation worse,” Labog said.

“We have to fight this government’s policies, which are slowly but surely being exposed as anti-poor and pro-elite. We cannot rely on it to improve our situation,” he added.

“We are aiming for a 30,000-strong mobilization in Metro Manila and more than a hundred thousand-strong mobilization across the country. Workers and the poor are hungrier and poorer and are fed up with Aquino’s empty promises,” Labog said.