DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 July) — Some 300 members of BAYAN-Southern Mindanao will gather at 4 p.m. Monday at the Freedom Park here while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint session of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
Paul John Dizon, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Southern Mindanao Region secretary general, said the protest action is intended to “amplify demands and grievances of the people and hold the Marcos Jr. regime accountable for their neglect of the people’s rights and for atrocities to the Filipino people.”
Dizon said they hope Marcos Jr. will adhere to the call of various labor groups in the country for an increase in minimum wage during his SONA.
He said they demand a P1,100 daily minimum wage.
Dizon lamented that the President has not yet acted on their call for a significant increase in the minimum wage because it can hardly support the needs of the Filipino families due to increases in the prices of basic commodities.
If the President refuses to heed the laborers’ appeal, Dizon said they will continue to campaign for higher wages by conducting activities such as lobbying with wage boards and forging alliances with other sectors.
Dr. Jean Lindo, environmental activist who co-chairs “Panalipdan! Mindanao,” told MindaNews that she anticipates Marcos will banner Republic Act No. 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act and the R.A. 11954 which establishes the Maharlika Wealth Fund that he recently signed.
Lindo said she hopes that the R.A. 11953, condones all the “unpaid amortizations of the principal debt, including interest and surcharges, if any, incurred by agrarian reform beneficiaries,” will be implemented properly “in the spirit of State accountability.”
But she criticized the Marcos administration for pushing through with the “Maharlika Investment Fund.”
According to the Department of Finance, the Fund “will be invested in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and high-impact infrastructure projects, and projects that contribute to the attainment of sustainable development.”
“He will also brag about his signing of the Maharlika Investment Fund, which smacks of economic adventurism. That is unsustainable economics. And what’s more, the fact that most Filipinos feel the hardship of day to day living because there is no significant change in the salaries of workers,” she said.
Lindo also hit the President for putting more time “rebranding himself and his politics.”
She added that she has yet to see action on his part to defend the Philippines and hold China accountable for its aggressions in the West Philippine Sea.
She also expressed concern about the continuing problem of human rights violations in the country involving environmental defenders and other advocates with state agents as suspected perpetrators.
“I am not surprised since his model is his late father,” she said.
Lemuel Manalo, program coordinator of the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), hopes that Marcos Jr will prioritize and support legislations that promote environmental and watershed protection amid climate crisis.
He said he hopes that the President will prioritize the implementation of the National Land Use Act, and Safe Pathways Act.
He also hopes that the President will support the “total shift towards Clean Energy,” build more recycling and composting facilities instead of constructing a Waste-to-Energy incineration facility, and promote sustainable practices and enterprises such as organic agriculture, refilling shops, and artisan and community-based tourism.
As the concurrent Agriculture secretary, Manalo said the President should highlight the importance of protecting the vital water resources and natural watersheds, “which sustains farmers, health and lives of people, from destructive industries such as mining, logging, monocrop agriculture.” (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
