Public Health Providers Tired of GMA’s Promises

A meager P18.65 ($0.42) per day is the equivalent of the ten percent increase to Salary Grade I government employees, which includes health workers in public hospitals.

BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat
Volume VIII, Number 25, July 27-August 2, 2008

Jamil Dionisio has been working as nursing attendant for 15 years at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP). His take home pay is only P3,000 ($67.827 at an exchange rate of $1=P44.23)a ) per month.

A big chunk of his salary is gobbled up by payments for Government Security and Insurance System (GSIS) and Pag-ibig loans, personal loans and taxes.

Even though his wife is working abroad, Dionisio still finds it hard to make both ends meet.

His three children have transferred from private to public schools due higher tuition and other fees. To cut expenses on transportation, he acquired a motorcycle and still pays for it on an installment basis.

Asked about the ten percent salary increase for government employees, he said, “Hindi namin naramdaman.” (We never felt it.)

Dionisio is one of the thousands of health workers nationwide who grapple with low salary and limited benefits.

According to the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), the ten percent salary increase is only P18.65 ($0.42) per day for Salary Grade I workers.

Entry level for rank-and-file employees in hospitals categorized as government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) is Salary Grade IV with a P7,000 ($158.26) salary. Utility workers receive less, with Salary Grade III entry level receiving only a little more than P5,000 ($113.045) per month.

As of March 2008, the National Wages and Productivity Commission placed the daily cost of living for a family of six in the National Capital Region at P858 ($19.15). It means that to be able to live decently, a family needs to earn P25, 740 ($574.68) per month.

An insult

Emma Manuel, AHW chairperson warned Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against taking pride in the ten-percent salary increase for government employees.

“Pagod na kami sa mga pangakong walang katotohanan,” (We are tired of empty promises.) Manuel said.

She said that Arroyo’s tarpaulins with the slogan “Ramdam ang Kaunlaran” (Progress is felt) is a big insult to government workers.

She described their condition, “Butas na ang bulsa, hikahos na.” (Pockets empty, struggling to survive). She added, “Our present take home pay even with the measly ten percent hike could not even take us home.”

Manuel also said that the long-awaited benefits accorded by law such as the subsistence allowance, cost of living allowance (COLA) backpay, increase in hazard pay “remain only as dreams” as these are subject to the availability of funds.

She also criticized Arroyo for not allocating funds for the implementation of the Nursing Law. The law mandates the increase of entry salary grade for nurses to Salary Grade 15 or P16,000 ($361.745) per month. Most nurses are classified under Salary Grade 10.

The AHW reiterated their demand for a P3,000 ($67.827) salary increase for government employees.

Doctors

Meanwhile, Dr. Julie Caguiat, executive director of the Community Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED) decried the Arroyo government’s neglect of doctors and health workers.

Caguiat said that while there are many well-meaning doctors who would want to serve the poor in rural areas, the economic conditions and lack of support from government compel them to work abroad. Caguiat said that 80 to 90 percent of municipal health officers in the country are taking up nursing.

The HEAD said that resident doctors in public hospitals receive only P18,000 ($406.96) per month.

“The conditions are not inviting,” Caguiat said. She deplored that those who go to far-flung areas are even branded as rebels.

“We ask Arroyo, where have the doctors gone? If we are losing our doctors, who will be the ones to look into the people’s health?”

Caguiat also called on the Arroyo government to address the plight of the poor. Caguiat said, “It is frustrating for us to treat them and then send them back to their abject conditions.” Bulatlat

The 2008 UP Charter: Forging the Transition from Premier State University to Corporate Enterprise

Published on Bulatlat (http://bulatlat.com)

The first thing which would probably strike a casual reader of the "Centennial Charter" (RA 9500) is the replacement of the conventional label of "state university" by the term "national university." The current nomenclature rests on the crucial distinction between Private Higher Educational Institutions (PHEIs) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Indeed, the yearly General Appropriations Act (GAA) only mentions SUCs as recipients of government subsidy. The studious elimination of all mention of the term "state university" in the Charter sends a message that this distinction no longer holds for the University of the Philippines. This suspicion is confirmed by the contents of the Charter itself.

BY CONTEND-UP*
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 20, June 22-28, 2008

The first thing which would probably strike a casual reader of the "Centennial Charter" (RA 9500) is the replacement of the conventional label of "state university" by the term "national university." The current nomenclature rests on the crucial distinction between Private Higher Educational Institutions (PHEIs) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Indeed, the yearly General Appropriations Act (GAA) only mentions SUCs as recipients of government subsidy. The studious elimination of all mention of the term "state university" in the Charter sends a message that this distinction no longer holds for the University of the Philippines. This suspicion is confirmed by the contents of the Charter itself.

UP and the Rise of a New Managerial Stratum

One salient characteristic of the Charter is the creation of a managerial stratum distinct from the existing governance structures of the University. The UP President, aside from being referred to as the "chief academic officer," is also labelled in the text of the Charter as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), which means no less than that she/he shall henceforth serve as the highest ranking officer of the corporate entity which is the "national university." Since the President shall be appointed in this capacity as the head of a corporation and since good CEOs don't come cheap, she/he shall also receive a salary befitting a CEO. In 2007, CEOs in the Philippines received an average base salary of $44,496 and $51,519 in annual cash or PhP4,271,899 or PhP355,991 a month (www.mercer.com [1]). Bear in mind that this is only the average. The Charter consequently states that the Board shall deem it within its powers to "determine the compensation of the President of the University" (Sec. 14). Despite the efforts of the promoters of the Charter to allow the UP President to have an unprecedented two terms, this proposal was eventually withdrawn because of strong opposition. Quite disturbing, however, is the fact that the Chancellor of each constituent unit will not only receive an unspecified amount to be determined by the Board but will also serve an unspecified term likewise to be determined by the Board (Sec. 18: "The Board shall determine [both] the term and compensation of the Chancellor").

Combining managerial and governance roles, the President shall serve simultaneously as the co-Chairperson of the Board of Regents (with the Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education or CHED) and as the Chairperson of an Independent Trust Committee (ITC) to be made up of representatives nominated by the following private entities explicitly specified by the Charter: Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), Investment Houses Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) and the Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). Furthermore, in case of two failed biddings these same private entities shall nominate representatives who shall make up the majority of a "third-party body" tasked with making a "fairness opinion report" (Sec. 23). The individuals making up the ITC and the "third-party body" shall be "entitled to a reasonable per diem as the Board may specify" (Sec. 23 & 24). Some information about these private entities is in order. The BAP was founded in 1964 and aims to provide "a necessary avenue for member banks to raise and discuss issues that affect the commercial banking industry." It counts among its members, 40 commercial banking institutions covering 26 local banks and 14 foreign bank branches (http://www.bap.org.ph/ [2]). The IHAP was founded in 1974 and its current membership consists of "fifty-five (55) member houses, which include the top players in the investment banking industry" (http://www.ihap.org/ [3]). Established in 1964, the TOAP's aim is to unite, professionalize and promote the Philippine Trust and Investment Management Industry http://www.toap.org.ph/ [4]). Lastly, the FINEX, founded in 1968 is said to be an "organization devoted to the continuing development and improvement of financial management techniques and the promotion of efficiency in business enterprises" (http://www.finex.org.ph/ [5]).

There is no good reason why these entities should have their names inscribed in such a solemn document such as the UP Charter. These are plainly transitory private entities, which do not sit well in a national public document drawn up with claims to perenniality such as the UP Charter. They could always be hired if and when consultants are needed and paid their "reasonable compensation." As it is, they could just fold up in a couple of years and leave embarrassing blank spaces on the Charter. This is almost equivalent to putting the names of private businesses in the Philippine Constitution. Being in the UP Charter lends these private entities more prestige than they are worth.

The function of the ITC, befitting its "independent" nature, is to recommend to the Board five banks aside from providing the "Board with direction on appropriate investment objectives and permissible investments with the view to preserving the value of the funds while allowing the University to earn a reasonable return thereon" (Sec. 24). Emphasis should be placed on the words "appropriate" and "permissible" in the above sentence in order to stress the actual managerial power of the ITC. These individuals, the President, the Chancellor, and these representatives from the BAP, IHAP, TOAP and FINEX shall henceforth constitute a distinct stratum of managerial technocrats whose "compensations" and privileges shall be at a qualitatively differently level than the ordinary faculty, REPS and administrative personnel making up the university community. It seems that such gains as the Staff Regent who shall represent the administrative personnel and the research, extension and professional staff was conceded by the framers of the Charter with the foresight that the BOR itself shall eventually no longer carry much weight in the scheme of things to come.

UP as a Commercial Area with an “Academic Core Zone”

The scope of the income generating activities that these individuals shall plan and undertake shall only be limited by the size of what is termed in the Charter as the "academic core zone." According to Section 22 of the Charter, "The Board may plan, design, approve and/or cause the implementation of land leases: Provided, That such mechanisms and arrangements shall … be exclusive of the academic core zone of the campuses of the University of the Philippines." The whole territory of the University lying outside of this so-called "academic core zone," which is as of yet unspecified, is therefore declared as a commercial zone. Furthermore, lands donated to the University from hereon may simply be sold if the terms of donation allow for it.

Profiting from the Pursuit of Truth

It is hard to see, given the power enshrined in the new Charter which now gives private business interests a preponderant role in shaping the future of the University, how such half-hearted provisos in the Charter itself, such as one stating that "such mechanisms and arrangements shall not conflict with the academic mission of the national university" or that "any plan to generate revenues and other sources from land grants and other real properties entrusted to the national university shall be consistent with the academic mission and orientation of the national university as well as protect it from undue influence and control of commercial interests" (Sec. 22) can realistically be adhered to. Instead of protecting it, the Charter actually renders the University extremely vulnerable to the "undue influence and control of commercial interests" as never before. For example, Sec. 3 on the "Purpose of the University," states that the University is "a community of scholars dedicated to the search for truth and knowledge." However Sec. 13 specifies without irony "that research and other activities funded by the University shall likewise undertake research in fields of topics that have promising commercial applications." ("Likewise" here means "also" and cannot be read as meaning "optional.") The message is clear: the scholars of the University shall be dedicated to the "search for truth and knowledge" only as long as these have "promising commercial applications."

The Price of Higher Wages

The thoroughgoing commercialization of the campus, and of the research and academic mission of the University together with projected substantial tuition fee increases are being sold to the faculty with the promise of higher salaries. This is the proverbial carrot. Indeed, Sec. 13 states that "any law to the contrary notwithstanding, to fix and adjust salaries and benefits of the faculty members and other employees: Provided, That salaries and other benefits of the faculty shall be equivalent to those being received by their counterparts in the private sector." Aside from the fact that a great part of these promised higher wages shall come from rising tuition fees and rampant commercialization, it is also more than likely that these salary increases shall come at the cost of undermining existing rights to tenure in the longer term and lead to a rising percentage of part-time and full-time non-tenure track teaching staff. This is already a problem in the US where according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), 68 percent of all university and college level teaching personnel comprise these so-called "contingent faculty," thus seriously undermining academic freedom, academic quality and professional standards (www.aaup.org [6]).

This Charter marks the next 100 years of UP. What has been dangled to clinch faculty support—exemption from the SSL and salaries competitive with the private sector—is neither forthcoming nor will it be within the range of the compensation package of the UP President as CEO. This Charter legitimizes the neoliberal turn to greater commercialization, privatization, deregulation of UP and of higher education in general.

A Charter Against the University of the People

This blatantly neoliberal charter accepts the conventional and deadly wisdom of aspiring to be "globally competitive" at the cost of erasing all traces of the University of the People. It accepts the assumption that the government cannot and will not provide sufficient budget for UP. Its main direction is to forge the transition from being a service-oriented public entity towards being a privately run corporate enterprise with its own CEO and an independent trust committee driven primarily, if not solely, by the search for profit. This Charter is nothing but the tragedy of the UP Centennial.

As the UP administration advances its neoliberal agenda in the transformation of higher education, CONTEND calls on the various sectors of the university to be militant and continue to struggle for a UP which may be called an exemplary university of the people.

Education is not a commodity!

Continue the Fight for a genuine University of the People!

*The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy or CONTEND is a progressive organization of academics based in the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Please email your comments to upcontend@yahoo.com [7].

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Links:
[1] http://www.mercer.com
[2] http://www.bap.org.ph/
[3] http://www.ihap.org/
[4] http://www.toap.org.ph/
[5] http://www.finex.org.ph/
[6] http://www.aaup.org
[7] mailto:upcontend@yahoo.com

Health Groups Doubt New Law Would Make Medicines Cheaper

Published on Bulatlat (http://bulatlat.com)

Health groups expressed doubt that the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 or Republic Act no. 9502 would bring down the prices of medicines in the country. They said that this is because the law failed to dismantle foreign control over the country’s drug industry.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 20, June 22-28, 2008

Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9502 or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 on June 6.

The law aims to bring down the prices of medicines in the country. The Philippines is one of the countries where medicines are the most expensive.

According to the World Drug Situation of the World Health Organization in 2000, the Philippines is classified as among countries where less than 30 percent of the population have regular access to essential drugs. Moreover, the Department of Health, in its Rational Drug Use paper in 1999 revealed that those who cannot afford the drugs they need resort to under-medication of essential drugs (such as antibiotics) and over-medication of cheaper symptomatic preparations. Symptomatic preparations are medicines that address the symptoms of a disease, like paracetamol for headache.

Regulation?

The Council for Health and Development (CHD), a national organization of community-based health programs, cited several reasons for believing that the new law would not deliver on its promise of reducing the cost of medicines in the country.

In a statement, Eleanor Jara, medical doctor and CHD executive director, criticized the omission of a Drug Price Regulatory Board.

The Lower House version, House Bill 2844 proposed the establishment of a Drug Price Regulatory Board. Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron, principal author of the Bill, asserted that state intervention in the form of a Drug Price Regulatory Board is needed to significantly reduce the prices of medicine.

However, Section 17 of the enacted law gives the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Department of Health (DoH), the power to impose maximum retail prices over drugs and medicines.

Jara said, “Failure to create a regulatory body for drug prices would only strengthen monopoly trade among big players in the drug industry and would further banish local manufacturers into oblivion. Thus, the Filipino people’s access to essential medicines is at the mercy of profit-greedy transnational drug corporations.”

She added, “We do not understand why our legislators decided to give the authority to regulate the prices of medicines to the President when Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself is tainted with corruption and other anomalies. Besides, she has no record of going against the profiteering acts of transnational drug corporations. She has allowed it for seven years. What can she do in the next 120 days?”

Under the new law, the health secretary is mandated to establish and initiate a price monitoring and regulation system for drugs and medicines within 120 days after enactment of the said law. The health secretary’s recommendations would later be approved by the President.

In an interview with Bulatlat, Dr. Geneve Rivera, secretary general of Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) branded the new law as a mere palliative. She said, “Walang ipinatutupad ang gobyerno na permanente at epektibong patakaran sa pagkontrol ng presyo.” (The government does not implement a permanent and effective policy of price control.)

TNC control

Rivera said that the Arroyo government does not recognize that foreign control over the country’s drug industry is the main reason for the prohibitive cost of medicines.

The CHD asserted that the Cheaper Medicine Act is silent about the control of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the marketing, distribution and pricing of medicines.

According to the CHD Primer on Cheaper Medicines, 72 percent of the country’s drug industry is controlled by TNCs. In 2006, TNCs cornered 70 percent of the P9.11-billion ($205,411,499 at an exchange rate of $1=P44.35) worth of medicines sold in the country.

In its position paper, KilosBayan Para sa Kalusugan (KBK) said, “TNCs control the pricing of essential medicine through international trade impositions like the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization. This agreement further aggravates the escalating drug prices by granting exclusive license to TNC-dominated patent holders to produce certain drugs and dictate its price in the market.”

The Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) said that 80 percent of toll manufacturing of drugs for multinational corporations is done by one company. About 65-70 percent of wholesale distribution is handled by a sister company. In the end, more than 60 percent of the retailing of finished products is sold through Mercury Drug, which has more than 600 outlets nationwide.

Parallel importation

Moreover, Rivera said that provisions on parallel importation would bear no significant impact on the prices of medicines. She noted that even before the passage of the law, parallel importation is utilized by the government in its Botika ng Barangay (Village Drug Strores) program.

Third World countries use parallel importation to buy cheaper medicines from other countries. The Philippines buys medicines from Pakistan and India.

CHD’s Jara said that parallel importation would only further aggravate the country’s import-dependence and stunt the development of the local drug industry. She said, “Instead of being dependent on imports, why not develop our own drug industry and grant tax holidays for local manufacturers?”

The KBK’s position paper stated that developing a national drug industry is one of the most decisive steps in lowering the prices of medicines. It cited that India and Pakistan have done this during the last ten years.

The CHD primer revealed that there are about 600 drugs in the country that are considered essential. Of these, only 200 drugs are made by local companies. The other 400 off-patent drugs do not have local generic counterparts and are thus dependent on importation.

Alternatives

The KBK and CHD proposed as an alternative the creation of a transitory drug price regulatory board composed of representatives from the academe, consumers and health professionals. The drug price board would regulate prices of essential medicines based on production costs and a reasonable profit.

The health groups said parallel importation of essential medicines should be selective and subject to extensive government testing for safety and efficacy.

They are also pushing for the implementation of the Generics Law. The CHD noted that while the law has been in effect for 19 years, many are still not aware that generic equivalents are as safe and effective as branded, expensive drugs. As of 2006, generic drugs account for a measly four to five percent of medicines being sold in the Philippines.

Long-term solutions recommended by the health groups include the development of a self-reliant national drug industry that is responsive to the medical and health needs of the people; development of the technology to refine and extract raw materials and chemicals; tapping of the medicinal potential of indigenous and herbal plants in the Philippines through government-sponsored research and development, among others.

Palliative

Jara said, “The Arroyo government is merely preoccupied with populist rhetoric. In reality, it falls short of medium-and long-term solutions to the Filipino people’s problems.”

Rivera said the Arroyo government would not implement measures that contradict its own policy framework. The deregulation of the drug industry and liberalization of imports of medicines, she said, form part of the neoliberal policies being undertaken by the Arroyo government. Bulatlat

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Ang Lihim ni Winston Garcia

Pinoy Weekly Online

Saturday, June 7, 2008
in Lathalain

Ilang-Ilang D. Quijano/ Tarik Garcia

Hindi matapat sa publiko.

Ito ang ibinibintang ni Winston Garcia, general manager ng GSIS (Government Service Insurance System), sa pamilya Lopez na namumuno ng Meralco (Manila Electric Company). Tinatangka ng GSIS na makontrol ang Meralco, pinakamalaking distribyutor ng kuryente sa bansa, para mapababa umano ang labis-labis na singil nito sa kuryente.

Pero kung inililihim man ng mga Lopez ang abusadong paniningil nito, inililihim din naman ni Winston ang kanyang posibleng tunay na interes sa Meralco.

May koneskiyon ang pamilya Garcia sa Veco (Visayan Electric Company), pangalawang pinakamalaking distribyutor ng kuryente sa bansa. Malapit na alyado ni Pangulong Arroyo si Winston na tubong Cebu ang pamilya.

Nakadikit ang prominenteng mga miyembro ng pamilya Garcia sa Veco, na pag-aari ng pamilya Aboitiz. Nakabase rin sa Cebu ang mga Aboitiz, at tulad ng mga Garcia, malapit diumano sa Palasyo.

Dating legal counsel ng Veco si Jesus Garcia Sr., tiyo ni Winston. Humalili sa tiyo ni Winston ang kanyang pinsang si Jesus Garcia Jr. Ang pamangkin ni Jesus Garcia Jr. na si Jess Anthony N. Garcia ang kasalukuyang legal counsel ng Veco.

Samantala, umupo rin ang mga Garcia sa Board of Directors ng Vivant Corporation, nakalista sa Philippine Stock Exchange na holding company ng Veco. Si Jess Anthony N. Garcia ang kasalukuyang corporate investment officer at sekretarya ng Vivant.

(May dalawang grupo ng mga Garcia sa board ng Vivant. Hindi kadugo ng pamilya ni Winston ang mga Garcia na lahing Espanyol na kumokontrol sa board ng kompanya.)

“Niloloko ni Garcia ang publiko sa pamamagitan ng pagkukunwaring panig siyang walang interes na nagnanais lamang pababain ang singil sa kuryente ng Meralco. Sa totoo, may interes ang kanyang pamilya sa Veco, na makikinabang ang mga may-ari kapag nalusaw ang prankisa ng Meralco. Ang kanyang populistang retorika ay pagtatakip sa pandarambong ng mga alyado at kroni ni Arroyo,” ayon kay Jaime Paglinawan, tagapangulo ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Central Visayas.

Hindi umano malayong gamitin ni Garcia ang pensiyon ng mga kawani ng gobyerno para sa kapakanan ng kanyang pamilya at mga alyado sa pulitika at negosyo. Nagawa na niya ito noon.

Noong 2004, bilyun-bilyong piso ng pondo ng GSIS ang kinuha ni Garcia mula sa Land Bank of the Philippines na pag-aari ng gobyerno at inilipat sa pribadong Union Bank.

Iginawad din ni Garcia sa Union Bank ang multi-milyong pisong kontrata sa proyektong E-Card. Idineklara ng Commission on Audit na “illegal” ang nasabing kontrata.

Pag-aari ng pamilya Aboitiz ang Union Bank.

Samantala, nagpahayag ng pagtutol ang mga kawani ng gobyerno sa umano’y tiwaling pamamalakad ni Winstyon sa GSIS at pag-abandona nito sa tungkuling pangalagaan ang kanilang interes.

Sa ika-22 anibersaryo ng Courage (Confederation for the Unity Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees) noong Mayo 19, nagkaisa laban sa pamunuan ng GSIS ang mga empleyado ng National Food Authority, National Housing Authority, Bureau of Customs, Land Transportation Office, Department of Trade and Industry, National Broadcasting Network, Quezon City Hall, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Labor and Employment, Senado, at iba pang ahensiya ng gobyerno.

“Pinagsasamantalahan ng GSIS ang pondo ng mga manggagawa at ginagamit lamang sa pamumulitika,” ani Ferdinand Gaite, tagapangulo ng Courage.

Update sa Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) Meeting

Hiwalay na Kahilingan Para Sa UP Centennial Bonus ng mga Kawani ng PGH Isinumete Kay Pangulong Roman/BOR ng AUPWU Manila

Noong ika-21 ng Mayo 2008 ay nagkaroon meeting ang Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) kung saan tinatatalakay ang lahat na usaping pang-ehekutibo sa pamantasan at ang idudulog na pagdedesiyunan ng Board of Regents (BOR). Labas sa usapan sa ating bagong CNA, may apat (4) tayong kahilingan na pinag-usapan sa PAC meeting. Sa ulat ni Dr. Arlene Samaniego, Vice-President for Administration ng U.P. ang mga napag-usapan ng PAC ay ang sumusunod:

Una: Ang kahilingan P20,000.00 Centennial Bonus ay pag-aaralan pa kung kakayaning ibigay.
Ikalawa: Ang P1,700.00 na Rice Subsidy para sa unang isang sako ng bigas ay inirekomenda ang P1,500.00 “for Approval” ng BOR sa meeting nito ngayong ika-30 ng Mayo 2008.
Ikatlo: Ang dagdag na sampung (10) araw na sick leave para sa may malalang karamdaman ay para sa mga faculty lamang dahil ang mga admininstrative personnel ay meron nang 15 days sick leave.
At ika-apat: Ang 50-50 hatian sa budget para sa Merit Promotion ay pag-aaralan pa rin.

Maliban sa dagdag na P500.00 (mula P1,000.00 magiging P1,500.00) para sa isang sakong bigas, dama natin na hindi seryoso ang U.P. Administrasyon sa pagbibigay ng solusyon sa ating mga kahilingan at maiangat kahit papaano ang ating kabuhayan. Puro PAG-AARALAN ang kanilang mga sagot kaya’t kinakailangang magpalakas pa tayo at magparami upang higit nating maigiit ang ating mga kahilingan.

Samantala, tayo sa All UP Workers Union Manila ay nagsumite naman ng araw na iyon ng liham sa Office of the Secretary of the University para BOR sa pamamagitan ni Pangulong Roman upang hilingin na huwag ibawas ang P3,000.00 na PGH Centennial Bonus sa anumang ibibigay na UP Centennial Bonus. Mahalaga na igiit natin ang posisyung ito dahil nauna nang nagbigay ng posisyon ang UP Panel sa CNA Negotiation Meeting nitong ika-7 ng Mayo 2008 na ibabawas ang PGH Centennial Bonus sa UP Centennial Bonus.

Nasa pagkakaisa at sama-samang pagkilos pa rin natin makakamit ang ating TAGUMPAY! Suportahan ang ating Unyon para sa pagkamit ng mga dagdag benepisyo.

(Ito ang lead article sa ikalawang issue ng Pandayan Manila sa taong ito na lumabas noong ika-28 ng Mayo 2008.)

CRISPIN BELTRAN: MOST OUTSTANDING LEGISLATOR

CenPEG ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 8
May 23, 2008
Series of 2008

In session, Beltran stood tall and dignified among many, untainted by the corruption that soiled many multimillionaire- congressmen' s seats.

As the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) prepares its assessment of the first 10 years of the Party-list system this year, we deemed it apt to devote this issue analysis to the life and struggles of Crispin Bertiz Beltran, first nominee of the Party-list group Anakpawis. Beltran, a charismatic labor leader who died in a fatal accident last May 20 in Bulacan, was a central figure in the Party-list system - defending it from subversion by the powers-that- be yet tirelessly asserting the people's right to democratic representation in governance.

Crispin Beltran is an exemplary product of his times. Trained in genuine unionism, steeled in the parliament of the streets, and more defiant after Marcos imprisonment, he brought new politics in Congress. Through it all he remained at the forefront of the workers' struggle – and that struggle has produced a hero.

Beltran, known to many Filipinos as Ka (short for kasama or comrade) Bel, was adjudged Most Consistent Outstanding Congressman from 2002-2005 and was elevated to the Congressional Hall of Fame by the Congress Magazine in 2006. He filed the most number of bills in the 13th Congress among the Party-list representatives and would have achieved the same record in the present one had he not met a fatal accident on May 20. The Philippine press and the whole nation – ruled by a government seen as one of the most corrupt in the world - were astounded to find that he died a poor man and had maintained an even frugal life.

But why was Beltran tagged and imprisoned as an "enemy of the state" by two Presidents – Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s and, for a year-and-a-half, by Gloria M. Arroyo? What kind of politics did he wage that provoked state authorities to believe that by neutralizing him – either by arrest or physical harm (he had faced countless attempts on his life) – they would put an end to his ideology as well?

Humble beginnings

Born of humble beginnings in Bikol in 1933, Beltran's life had been etched by struggles whether as a young guerilla courier fighting the Japanese imperial occupation or as a farm worker, office sweeper, gasoline attendant, messenger, bus driver and later, as a cab driver to support his education. His legacy as one of the country's outstanding labor leaders traces its roots to when, at age 20, he joined fellow drivers in a strike. From thereon, there was no looking back. He either helped organize or served as leader of pioneering labor organizations, the last as chair of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in 1987 following the abduction and brutal murder of Rolando Olalia and his driver by military operatives. Three years earlier, he escaped Marcos torture and imprisonment and went to the countryside to organize workers and farm laborers.

For Beltran, working alongside the country's proletariat did not only mean going on strikes for bread and butter or facing company executives in tough wage negotiations. The years spent in labor leadership also produced hard-fought lessons in ideological skirmishes with "yellow" or compromising trade unionism and also linking up with organizations of farmers, youth-students, urban poor and other sectors in a nationwide cause-oriented movement. It meant taking up the cudgels of the poor through peaceful but militant engagement with state authorities in denouncing oppressive policies while advocating for genuine social, economic and political reform. He knew that any picket or street protest would be met by police truncheons, water cannons, or even bullets but Beltran never for a second vacillated in the frontline of the struggle, as colleagues in the street parliament would narrate.

Known for his solid pro-people leadership in the labor movement, Beltran was invited to join the senatorial slate of the Partido ng Bayan (PnB or people's party) in the 1987 elections – the first to be held after 14 years of Marcos dictatorship. Reminiscent of the fate suffered by the Democratic Alliance (DA) whose six representatives elected in the 1946 elections were unseated for opposing onerous economic and military agreements with the United States, the PnB came out badly bruised from the polls with many of its volunteers killed and most of its candidates for Congress and local positions victims of fraud.

Beltran and the Party-list organizations that he represented (Bayan Muna and, later, Anakpawis) garnered significant seats in elections for the House, with BM topping both the 2001 and 2004 polls. House records show that the labor leader championed the issues of the poor in privilege speeches as well as by filing bills and resolutions on their behalf. The speeches, bills and resolutions penned by Beltran, among others, called for investigations of violations of the rights of workers, farm laborers, urban poor, migrant workers, consumers, GSIS members as well as public employees and victims of human rights violations. He was most vehement in opposing the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Arroyo's support to the U.S. war on terror and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Vindictive Arroyo

These initiatives inevitably antagonized government agencies, big industrial and agricultural corporations, energy companies, and military authorities. Consequently, the congressman earned the vindictive ire of Mrs. Arroyo as she watched her centerpiece policies and bills sponsored subjected to condemnation one after the other by the labor leader - together with Party mates and other legislators - inside and outside the halls of Congress. Co-authoring three impeachment initiatives and denunciations against scams linking the Arroyo couple also cost Beltran's office access to the countrywide development fund, among others.

The denial of CDF funds became part of what the progressive Party-list bloc denounced as a systematic campaign to unseat them from the House through demonization, election fraud, and the use of physical violence. The campaign was integral to a national security doctrine that seeks to neutralize the underground Left's alleged political infrastructures resulting in a series of summary executions and forced disappearances. Beltran was picked up and jailed by Arroyo authorities in February 2006 in a crackdown mounted by the President's attack dogs against the progressive bloc. After nearly two years in detention, he was set free by the Supreme Court which dismissed the trumped-up charges. By then, however, Beltran had physically weakened - a result of harassment, threats, and stress he suffered under a government that considered him "a threat to national security" and only because, as workers in the labor movement said, he stood by his principles and refused to be cowed by Malacanang through bribery and other pressures.

The last public performance that he did was when as a minority member of the House energy committee he spoke against attempts by the President to place Meralco in the hands of her business cronies in the guise of state nationalization. Before that, he filed a bill calling for a genuine agrarian reform program in place of CARP which for two decades he had denounced as a hoax. Just like the P125 legislated wage increase that Beltran and the militant labor groups had been asking for nearly 10 years, the genuine agrarian reform measure that the progressive legislator filed will be shot down by Congress' dominant conservative members and Arroyo allies. Ever a leading figure in major rallies even while he was already in Congress, Beltran delivered what turned out to be his valedictory – wearing a white T-shirt and a red cap together with co-workers at the May 1 rally in Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila.

Tributes

In a tribute to the fallen labor leader, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said Beltran is probably among the few members of Congress deserving of the title "Honorable." People who visited him while in detention to lend moral support left being inspired instead, a fellow activist leader recalls. Down with ailment, he still took pains serving food or coffee, a former KMU public information writer also says. "Don't deprive me of my wanting to serve you – no matter how small it is - if that's the only way I'll be of service," Beltran told him, quoting Golda Meir.

There are at least two lessons that can be drawn from the legacy left by Beltran. One is that his participation in the Party-list system led to the infusion of new politics in an elite-dominated Congress and with it a sterling record of legislative work for social and economic reform for the poor. A member of the legislature once noted that the entry of the progressive Party-list bloc into Congress gave the body the meaningful role that it never had. In session, Beltran stood tall and dignified among many, untainted by the corruption that soiled many multimillionaire- congressmen' s seats. But the political repression that Beltran and his colleagues endured – and continues to endure – all the more unmasks not only the state's subversion of the Party-list program that aims to represent the poor in policy making but also the continuing dominance of elitist politics that denies the poor a role in governance participation.

Beltran is vindicated for devoting his life to labor militancy alongside other marginalized classes – building power from the bowels of poverty and injustice – from where people's governance will rise. The labor and legislative record of Beltran proves that the breed of people's leaders is bound to increase – as it now appears - and that elitist rule will be a thing of the past. And that is the second lesson.

Reference:

Bobby Tuazon
Director, Policy Study, Publication and Advocacy (PSPA)
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
TelFax +63-2 9299526; mobile phone: 0915-6418055
E-mail: cenpeg.info@gmail.com; info@cenpeg. org
http://www.cenpeg. org

Ka Bel’s Legacy

The accolades coming the way of Anakpawis Representative Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, in his untimely death, salute his honesty and self-sacrifice, his courageous resistance against all forms of political repression, his unwavering commitment and service to the cause of the working class, his example of humility, good cheer and sincere concern for the lowly and downtrodden and, not the least, his being a loving and responsible family man who found time to rear ten children in the midst of his life-long struggle against exploitation and oppression.

by: CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO
Streetwise
Business World

The accolades coming the way of Anakpawis Representative Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, in his untimely death, salute his honesty and self-sacrifice, his courageous resistance against all forms of political repression, his unwavering commitment and service to the cause of the working class, his example of humility, good cheer and sincere concern for the lowly and downtrodden and, not the least, his being a loving and responsible family man who found time to rear ten children in the midst of his life-long struggle against exploitation and oppression.

It is not difficult to imagine what sorts of blandishments, bribes and outright persecutory schemes were thrown at Ka Bel by his foes who were, as far as we know, all political and ideological and not personal, adversaries. The most outrageous recent ones have been chronicled in the mass media: an attempted bribe of P2 million pesos for him to support a flawed-and-programmed-to-fail impeachment complaint against de facto President Gloria Arroyo and his 15-month detention on rebellion charges that were dismissed by the Supreme Court as baseless and a gross violation of his right to due process.

As a grizzled icon of the trade union movement in the country, the opportunities to grow rich by compromising the interests of workers were always present. As chairperson of the multisectoral alliance, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a volte face in his leftist viewpoint and politics on many a burning issue would have been a boon to ruling regimes and the elite class interests they protect and promote.

As a bone fide member of the House of Representatives (he didn’t use public funds, military generals and corrupt members of the Commission on Elections to get elected) he acted in true form – a radical oppositionist in a reactionary institution. He spoke on and filed countless bills and resolutions addressing the urgent and most basic problems of the nation from the P125 legislated minimum wage increase to genuine agrarian reform to making the US-backed Arroyo regime accountable for its grievous crimes against the people.

But never for a moment did Ka Bel forsake the Parliament of the Streets where his familiar smiling face, firm handshake and steady stride inspired both demonstrators and onlookers alike.

Ka Bel had traveled to many places around the world but not to the United States of America. Succeeding administrations, whether Republican or Democratic, had continued to blacklist him as an unwanted alien long after the downfall of his jailer, the Dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and even when he had already attained the title of “Honorable” as an elected representative to Congress. His staunch anti-imperialist stance and his identification with progressive causes and leadership role in the International League for Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) have earned him the ire of rabid pro-imperialists while endearing him to struggling peoples and their movements worldwide.
Next to having devoted his entire life to the struggle for national and social emancipation, the most remarkable thing about Ka Bel is how he remained simple and humble despite his fame and stature. He is the best, if not the only person we know who could get away with wearing a dressy suit or barong tagalong without losing his “masang-masa” aura.

Now the secret is out, ironically revealed by his accidental death. Ka Bel looked like a man of the masses, not only because he always took up the cudgels for them and was with them in their day-to-day as well as historic struggles, but because, in truth, he lived and died a man of very modest means. His wife of more than 50 years, Ka Osang, recounted between sobs, how he had been recently occupying himself with repairs on their house, clearing a space in their cramped residence to park an old van he had been using but was badly in need of repair and sweetly promising that he would help her pull the weeds from the garden in the coming weeks so that their vegetables would grow well and help feed the hungry.

His comrades, co-workers and subordinates and even some on the opposite side of the fence in many a bruising political battle, can attest to Ka Bel’s good-heartedness and humility. He never threw his weight around in meetings nor did he demand special treatment wherever he went. He was always willing to give his time and energy to undertake risky, strenuous and even unglamorous roles so long as these were needed. He was concerned about the welfare of "kasamas", the ordinary people and his growing brood of grandchildren.

Ka Bel was never intentionally mean to anyone (of course he would get angry at oppressors and exploiters and would have willingly engaged his persecutors in the Department of Justice in a street brawl). He was generous, some say to a fault, in giving even the policemen standing ready to violently disperse demonstrators, the option to disobey unlawful orders from their superiors by addressing them as “kababayan” (countrymen) and asking them to open their eyes to what was happening in the country.

Those in the Arroyo regime who contributed in no small measure to Ka Bel’s deteriorated health condition, his economic difficulties and his unabated political persecution would now want to act as if they had, all along, only the highest regard for Ka Bel despite their disagreements with his ideology and politics. They send flowers and make sympathetic noises now that he’s dead and even wish to let it appear that as far as they are concerned, bygones are bygones.

Let us in the democratic mass movement express ourselves clearly and emphatically. Ka Bel was an uncompromising, untiring fighter for freedom, justice and fundamental reforms. He has left us a legacy that serves as an inspiration to generations of activists and the toiling, struggling masses he so loved and whom he served to his last breath.

We celebrate his life by affirming the progressive, nay revolutionary, principles and national democratic program he fought for. As the marchers who accompanied his hearse to the Iglesia Filipina Independiente Cathedral shouted resolutely, “Ka Bel, tuloy ang laban!”