Two protest actions calling for wage increases and slamming the rising prices of basic commodities were held in Bacolod City to mark Andres Bonifacio Day on Wednesday, November 30.
The Partido Manggagawa (PM) Negros members held a “blank paper protest” in front of the replica of the Bacolod City Government Center at the Bacolod City Public.
They are pressing for a labor agenda that remains blank or absent in the Marcos administration, Priscilla Goco, secretary-general of PM Negros said.
The labor agenda includes demands for a wage hike, labor rights and an end to contractualization, affordable and quality public services, and mechanisms for a continuing policy dialog on structural reforms, she said.
Edsel Relota, PM Negros chair, said Bonifacio’s fight for independent development, his advocacy for social justice and “kaginhawaan” continues to ring true in the face of the consolidation of the authoritarian turn and growing inequality.
Andres Bonifacio is regarded as the Father of the Philippine Revolution against Spain.
Relota called for a labor agenda combining the demands for wages, jobs, rights and services that intersect with the campaign to defend human rights and civil liberties.
Protestors from militant groups also gathered in front of the Fountain of Justice at Araneta Street in Bacolod to call for an increase in wages amid price hikes and “to fight for Philippine sovereignty endangered by imperialist interests”.*