THE YOUTH SONA: Our Response to the "Report Kay Boss"

The State of the Nation Address is the annual address delivered by the President of the Philippines to the Congress of the Philippines. It is a tool for democracy, a lens by which we can subject the government to public scrutiny, and a venue for the youth to exercise our participation. This is the Youth SONA’s assessment of President Benigno Aquino’s 3rd State of the Nation address, entitled Report Kay Boss.

Our past is painted bleak. We rose from a period of martial law into a country whose level of corruption was comparable with the worst in the world. PNoy attempted to overhaul the government and steering it toward what he called ang daang matuwid or the straight path, and restore public trust in government. He substantiated his claim with an impressive report, listing victories including the abolition of the abuse of sirens (wang-wang), the investigation of anomalies such as the P1B for coffee in PAGCOR, and the removal of corrupt government officials from office. Among others, he highlighted the success of the Conditional Cash Transfer project, significant increases in the beneficiaries of PhilHealth, the mordernization of the AFP, the strengthening of the rice industry, and the positive credit rating that the Philippines has achieved in his term. Although marked with successes, the youth has assessed that the country and its leaders have a very long way to go before we can claim that we are truly on PNoy’s ‘daang matuwid’.

Land Distribution by 2014

The youth recognizes the importance and immediacy of land distribution under the CARPER law. We recognize the priority that government has placed on this project, but we find that the target of distribution by 2016 is unacceptable. We call for the distribution of land under CARPER by 2014.

Freedom of Information Bill

We celebrate the efforts of government to clean up its act. Our victory in impeaching former Chief Justice Renato Corona is a definite step in the right direction, but the youth demands a more long term solution in the form of the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill. The youth demands no less than true transaprency and accountability in government. Information should be readily accessible while utilizing new, innovative and efficient means of information dissemination such as updated government websites and written manuals.

RH Bill

The youth adamantly calls for the immediate passage of the RH bill. PNoy recognized the problem of a high maternal mortality rate, but failed to mention the RH bill at all. The youth is steadfast in its stand that reproductive health is a right that the government must address. There is a need for accessible contraception, education on family planning methods, and gender sensitive education for the moral and intellectual growth of our nation’s children.

Anti Discrimination Bill

There is no place in a free and democratic country for discrimination, and the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill is a key to the protection of our rights, but there was no word from PNoy addressing this issue. The youth supports an act prohibiting discrimination, profiling, violence and all forms of intolerance against persons based on race, ethnicity, language, religion, belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other status.

Security of Tenure Bill

The youth will not tolerate injustice against our nation’s makers of wealth, the Filipino workforce, and demands the passage of the Security of Tenure Bill. The youth believes that contractualization is a form of precarious work and subjects workers to the whims of corporate greed. We recognize improvements in the labor sector such as the decrease of the unemployment rate from 8%% at the start of PNoy’s term to 6.9% as of April this year, as well as the number of specialists that TESDA trained and employed. What the youth cannot accept is that PNoy expressly defends the current system of contractualization by highlighting the BPO sector as a primary source of employment and and revenue, despite the injustice we know to be rampant when it comes to process outsourcing as was seen by the situation in Philippine Airlines. PNoy relies on job creation to address the needs of the workforce, but fails to appreciate that having a job does not mean having a decent living.

Education

Education is a right, and one of those that are closest to the hearts and minds of the youth. PNoy proudly reported that by the end of the year, we will have completely addressed the problem of 2.5M backlog in chairs and 61.7M in textbooks to the achievement of a one-is-to-one ratio of student to textbook. We also commend the 43.61% increase in the budget for State Universities and Colleges and the increases in the DepEd budget which makes PNoy’s attack on the education problem holistic. Although we see that reforms in education are going in the right direction, our call is clear. UNESCO prescribed a universal standard of education budget allocation to 6% of the Gross National Product, and the youth will not rest until this standard is attained. Furthermore, the reform of the education sector must not rely solely on budget increases and facilities but also the reforms in the quality of instruction which must be addressed with proper training and, and the relevance of curricula which must cater to the country’s long term needs.

Environmental Justice

The youth calls for an administration that prioritizes environmental protection and responsible utilization of resources. Although PNoy failed to address one of the country’s biggest environmental problems, illegal logging, we recognize PNoy’s call for the passage of the Minerals Management Act.

Universal Health

The youth calls for an administration that prioritizes Universal Healthcare especially for women and children. We recognize the improvements during PNoy’s term, namely the 23.31M Filipinos that benefit from PhilHealth, of which 5.2M are the poorest of the poor and need not pay for any service. The youth also calls for better compensation for our country’s healthcare workers.

Although the youth recognizes that under President Noynoy’s leadership, the country has taken a turn for the better, we can see that the number of important issues that he did not tackle shows that we still have a long way to go. What PNoy did want to stress in his address though, was that his SONA was the SONA of the people, and that the triumphs and failures that our country may claim are not exclusively the result of the government, but the cooperation between an administration and its constituents. While participation requires the scrutiny of the government and its actions, it also demands the hard work and responsible citizenship of the people. The government must be held accountable, but it is the youth that is the hope of the nation.

ISKOLAR PARA SA BAYAN, KASAMA KA SA PAGKAMIT NG ATING 8 POINT AGENDA PARA SA TAONG ITO! 

ISKOLAR PARA SA BAYAN, KASAMA KA SA ALYANSA.

Youth SONA 2012 Primer

Labor Day 2012

ISKOLAR PARA SA BAYAN, kasama ka sa paggunita ng ARAW NG PAGGAWA ngayong May 1.

Ipaglaban natin ang karapatan ng ating mga manggagawa!

Ipasa na ang SECURITY OF TENURE BILL!

Message of PALEA President Gerry Rivera to the Iskolars para sa Bayan

3-4 October 2011 – UP ALYANSA visited the members of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) in their camp-out site near the NAIA Terminal 2 in Parañaque City, and expressed its solidarity with the protesting PAL employees in their fight for security of tenure.

UP ALYANSA Chairperson Tin Borja and CSSP Student Council Chairperson JC Tejano gave their messages of solidarity to PALEA, reaffirming the formation’s commitment in upholding workers’ rights that also affect the youth and students.

“Narito po kami upang magpasalamat sa inyo dahil higit sa pagtatanggol ninyo sa inyong mga karapatan bilang mga manggagawa, ipinaglalaban niyo rin na magkaroon kaming mga kabataan ng regular na trabaho at magandang buhay sa hinaharap,” Tejano said in his message.

In response to our call for financial and material support to the camp-out, residents of Kalayaan Residence Hall donated noodles, canned goods and blankets to PALEA members.

In return, PALEA President Gerry Rivera thanked UP ALYANSA and the freshman dormers, and asked our fellow Iskolars para sa Bayan to continue supporting PALEA in defending their right to tenure and safeguarding the rights and welfare of our nation’s workers.

“Sa mga susunod na araw ay iniimbitahan namin kayo na pumunta rito. We need your support – be it moral, physical or material. Kailangan namin ang mga ito dahil ang laban nating ito ay maaaring pangmatagalan,” Rivera appealed to our fellow Iskos and Iskas.

“Sa pagbibigay ninyo ng moral support sa amin, mas lalo kaming lumalakas at kayo ay nagiging inspirasyon namin. Manalig kayo na sa inyong tulong ay makakamtan natin ang tunay na kalayaan para sa ating mga mangggagawa – kalayaan mula sa pang-aabuso, kalayaan mula sa eksploytasyon – at ang pagbibigay ng dignidad sa manggagawang Pilipino,” Rivera concluded.

Other youth groups that were with UP ALYANSA during the two visits are the National Youth Commission, the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP), the Coalition for Students’ Rights and Welfare (STRAW Coalition), Akbayan! Youth, and ALYANSA member-organizations Buklod CSSP and Akbayan! Youth - UP Diliman.



Iskolar para sa Bayan, kasama ka sa laban kontra kontraktuwalisasyon.
END UNJUST CONTRACTUALIZATION OF LABOR, PASS THE SECURITY OF TENURE BILL!

2011 Youth Statement on the State of the Nation

(Given at Manila, July 22, 2011)


A year has passed since President Benigno Simeon Aquino III delivered his State of the Nation Address. His first year in office shed light on the tremendous corruption that was institutionalized in the government by the previous administration. We waited patiently as the President introduced reform measures to address corruption, poverty, health, and a host of other concerns that seemed to have been neglected and worsened by the previous administration. Government effort in addressing these concerns slowly but surely restored trust and hope in government.

It is no surprise that the youth today feel that we must speak up about our issues now that the mechanisms for addressing our concerns have been strengthened.

The State of the Nation for the Filipino Youth is one filled with both trepidation and hope. There is trepidation because the opposition to reform efforts is very strong. But we also know there is hope now that we can see crucial youth reform measures can be realized under this administration.

Security of Employment

Now is the time to raise the collective voice of the youth in fighting not only for jobs, but security of tenure in those jobs.

Contractualization is a major factor to the serious employment problem. The youth have nothing to gain from such an oppressive and failed job policy that has ensured that our workers have little protection from corporate greed. Current labor laws are inadequate in ensuring the rights of workers are protected by the pernicious effects of contractualization.

A study in 2000 by a leading international research NGO showed that the “combined share of casual, contractual and part-time workers in total enterprise-based employment” had increased from 14 to 15 percent in 1990-94 to 18.1 percent in 1995 and to 21.1 percent in 1997, which meant that for every five workers at least one was a non-regular worker.

Another local research has even claimed that between 1995 and 2005, contractual labor in the Philippines has “soared from 65 percent to as much as 78 percent of the country’s employed labor force.”

The youth is challenging the Aquino government to generate secure jobs for all, especially for the working youth, and for jobs wherein workers are justly remunerated and their rights are fully respected. We are also calling for the passage of the Security of Tenure bill, HB 4853, which has been lingering in Congress for more than a decade now. This legislation, if passed, will be the biggest response of the President Aquino government in addressing the working youth’s concerns

Education

In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which recognized the universal right to education. We believe that education is a right that must remain accessible to all Filipinos regardless of race, religion, gender, and social class.

While the government has made attempts to solve this problem, it has yet to address the issue of educational accessibility. A K-12 system does not mean more poor youths will have access to education.

The solution is larger government investment in education. With the current administration spending only 2.44% of the GNP, less than the 6% international standard, it comes as no surprise that education in the country remains as dismal as ever.

Access, however, must go in tandem with quality. We believe that students learn more in academic environments that respect their rights. The Students Rights and Welfare (STRAW) bill will allow students to demand more from their teachers and administrators. It will also ensure that school administrations respect the autonomy of its students.

Healthcare and RH Bill

We believe that a comprehensive reproductive health policy is crucial to the welfare of the youth. Age-appropriate and gender sensitive sex education is integral to the intellectual and moral growth of young people.

It is imperative that RH information and services be made available and accessible to those who needed it most: young people, who are most prone to sexual illnesses and unwanted pregnancies.

We support the Reproductive Health Bill. It is a law that will allow the state to uphold women’s rights and the health of its citizens, regardless of which faith they subscribe to.

These three measures are the most urgent legislative actions that can address the needs of the Filipino youth today. We therefore urge President Aquino to fast track their passage.

We agree that the road to reform is a rough and rugged road. However, it is a road that we Filipino youth will wholeheartedly tread. The straight path, the “tuwid na daan” which our hero Jose Rizal walked was never easy. But we must remember that at the end of every road is the destination. For the likes of Rizal it was freedom from tyranny and ignorance. For the youth, it is the freedom from economic disempowerment, from deprivation of right to health, and the right to meaningful education.

There are five years left for our President to accomplish these and other reforms. They may seem insurmountable but with the youth backing a comprehensive reform agenda, we will succeed.


Signed:
MABUTING PILIPINO YOUTH MOVEMENT*

* UP ALYANSA is a convener of the Mabuting Pilipino Youth Movement

Beyond Remembering: Labor Day 2011

Sunday, May 01, 2011: The country will once again commemorate Labor Day. For many of us, this day is merely another holiday, a day-off from work and an excuse to have a vacation. For some of us, this day offers more meaning as some remembers and honors our workers’ past victories to establish an eight hour workday, assemble legally, and form labor unions. For the remaining few, this day is going beyond just remembering as it signals the continuous fight for the rights and welfare of every worker. But then why should only a few continue this historical battle?

The longstanding issue of non-regularization in the ranks of our labor forces, which was recently highlighted by the row between the management and employees of Philippine Airlines (PAL), has been the gravest impediment towards the attainment of job security for our people. Contractual workers are being disposed of like tissue papers by employers by virtue of a time-bound contract. Schemes such as subcontracting, agency-hiring, job-out and the like impinge upon not only their right to receive non-wage benefits (such as SSS, PhilHealth, paid sick leave and the like), join labor unions, and participate in collective bargaining agreements, but also every worker’s right to a decent life.

The current plight of our nation’s workers is a far cry from a society that is just and progressive. And yet, many of us would still choose to just stand idly by, some of us would still choose to simply remember, even as the rights and welfare of the backbone of our economy continue to be dragged behind, even as the future of yet another set of graduates are greeted with the kind of jobs that are not up to par with the education that they’ve received, even as our future, when we join the labor force could remain to be the same.

We implore the members of Congress to act for the swift passage of House Bill 303, or the Security of Tenure Bill that will amend the Labor Code of the Philippines. And while this progressive piece of legislation continues to fall to deaf ears, we urge all sectors of society, most especially the students, to bring the cause against contractual employment to the parliament of the streets.

Now more than ever, we are challenged to go beyond remembering. It is time, as it has always been in years past, to take action on May 1, for what Labor Day truly represents.


Kasama ka sa pagsusulong ng panlipunang katwiran at pagbabago.
Kasama ka sa pagtatanggol sa mga karapatan ng ating mga manggagawa.
Kasama ka, Iskolar para sa Bayan, ngayong Araw ng Paggawa!


May 1, 2011