About 200 members of progressive groups led by Bayan Negros slammed President Ferdinand Mayor Jr. for failing to improve the lives of the Filipino masses under his “Bagong Pilipinas” at a rally in front of the Fountain of Justice in Bacolod City on Monday morning ahead of his third State of the Nation Address.
Under the Marcos Jr. administration issues of privatization, land conversion, and measly wages have not been addressed as the economic crisis continues to worsen, Berlita Ante, Bayan Negros deputy spokesperson, said.
Farmers and farm workers also decried the lack of genuine agrarian reform and slave-like wages, as most haciendas still implement the pakyaw system, with workers earning as low as P30 a day, she said.
Ante also said the urban poor sector slammed Marcos Jr.’s Pabahay Program, locally adopted by Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez through the Yuhum Housing Program, claiming it does not address the root causes of poverty and homelessness in the city.
Local fisher folks’ livelihood are also threatened with the more than 1,000-hectare reclamation project in Bacolod, a common trend of the Marcos Jr. administration’s opening up local industries to foreign investors, Ante said.
FASTING
Bayan Negros is also in solidarity with the more than 100 political prisoners who are fasting in protest of the worsening human rights situation in Negros under Marcos, with cases of hamletting, bombing and extrajudicial killings of peasants, Ante added.
In urban centers, progressive leaders have also reported police are deployed, through the Regional Peace and Security Council, for intelligence gathering and delivering threats, she said.
Bayan Negros also slammed the extravagant spending of Marcos Jr. for this year’s SONA, which is merely a platform to spew lies disguised as attractive promises, Ante said.
Bayan Negros believes the rift between Marcos and Duterte is underpinned by their warring allegiances of the United States and China. The group calls on the people to be critical of the next months, as the contradictions between them are expected to worsen, she added.
ANOTHER RALLY
The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), in a separate rally in front of the Fountain of Justice Monday afternoon, urged Marcos not to turn a blind eye on the plight of Filipino workers amidst the high inflation rate and economic uncertainty.
“PBBM’s administration seems to have no clear policy direction on arresting inflation and alleviating Pilipino workers from hunger and poverty and that is the reason why our main message is in PBBM’s Bagong Pilipinas, bigo gid ang pumuluyo kag mamumugon,” BMP Negros Chairperson Joey Sierra said.
“If PBBM is really serious in addressing worker’s issues, it should also be reflected in the SONA and he should present a comprehensive policy for workers and declare it urgent given that the majority in Congress is under his administration’s coalition,” he added.
The group also called for a legislated wage increase of P750 to be certified as a priority and urgent bill by the president.
The BMP rally was joined by members of the Power for People Coalition who stressed the importance of addressing the high cost and dirty sources of electricity.
About 250 members of BMP, Sanlakas, Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng mga Maralita ng Lungsod, Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura Negros, Bacolod Fisherfolks Federation, Konsyumer Negros, and Bacolod Alliance of Commuter’s Operators Drivers joined the rally.*