LETTERS

KMU apprehensive on gov’t wage hike

Cordillera workers under the flag of the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno-Cordillera doubt the hearing on wage hike on Nov. 21 scheduled by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board will not be a repeat of last year’s wage increase hearing for the Cordillera Region in Baguio City. The last hearing resulted only in giving the region’s wage earners the smallest in the country.

The workers were only given a P10 a day increase in their basic salaries. This was approved in spite of petitions for wage hikes filed by various labor organizations and sectors. The said increase was a mere display of giving favor to the big businessmen instead of looking on how the workers’ salaries cope up with the continuous rising of process of basic commodities.

The RTWPB’s answer to the petitions of some labor sectors for instance the Cordillera Workers’ Alliance’s demand for P125 wage increase is purely in favor to the big businessmen by saying that it may be a big burden to the employers and many businesses will close and will create more unemployment. The KMU hopes that the said agency will not be again a simple relay office of the business sector and set aside the welfare of the poor workers.

At present, the Cordillera industrial workers are receiving P235 while the Agricultural sector is P229 which are far away from the P749 daily cost of living for the family of six. If we are going to look at the continuous hiking of prices, the salary of a worker is not enough to feed his family and even himself.

Now, what we should demand should be based on the actual needs of the workers and not just asking for pittance. Actually, our demand for an increase of P125 is already small amount compared to the high prices of today’s commodities and services. Last month, the price of LPG rose to P5 a kilo making it P55 more per gas tank. Prices of other goods and products will surely follow because of this.

As the workers are worried on how to stretch their small salaries amidst high prices, they are also facing the uncertainty because of threats of unemployment, contractualization and anti-worker labor policies. Because of hard work through the years building the economy of the country, the workers then have all the rights to demand for a genuine increase in their wages.
This is not because they just want to have a higher salaries but this is because they have to cope with the rocketing standard cost of living.

Aldwin Quitasol
KMU-Cordillera
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Army nixes NPA on killing of Abra CAFGU member

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army abducted and murdered a CAFGU member named Raul Labawan in Malibcong District, along the Abra-Kalinga Road, at 4:30 p.m. last Oct. 30, while he was on his way home after performing duty in Malibcong Detachment of the 77th Infantry Battalion. Still not contented with their ruthless deed, the CPP-NPA boasted Labawan was executed for violations of alleged crimes against the people as stated in their recent press release.

Labawan, 35, married, and resident of Barangay Mataragan, Malibcong, Abra attends to their farm when he is not on duty as volunteer CAFGU in Malibcong Detachment. On that afternoon of Oct. 30, Labawan was forcibly abducted by a group of armed communist terrorists while riding in a jeep on his way home to his family after coming from a 15-day duty in Malibcong Detachment. The following morning, at about 8 a.m., he was found dead with torture marks in the different parts of his body and a gun shot wound on his chest in Sitio Agibo, near the Abra-Kalinga road, not too far from the place where he was abducted.

The CPP-NPA probably consider lying an art by throwing numerous fabricated stories against the slain CAFGU member to discredit him against their supporters and to justify their brutal killing, which is in all angles, is an extra judicial act in violation of the rule of law and human rights.

The 5ID leadership wants to clear the name of Labawan who after being brutally killed became a victim of the enemy’s black propaganda. This is a clear manifestation that the communist terrorists have no respect for the living, as well as the dead. Labawan left a wife and three kids namely Rodney, who is 10, Rowela, who is 7, and Racquel, who is only 2. Labawan was a quiet, humble, and God-fearing person according to his widow, Rowena, 27. She said Raul does not carry any pistol so he was defenseless when he was abducted. She added they were shocked and never expected anything like this would happen to him since they didn’t know of anybody that Raul has had a disagreement.

Maj. Gen. Melchor J. Dilodilo, the commander of the 5ID condemns the acts of the communist terrorists and expresses his sympathy to the bereaved families and loved ones of Raul. He has ordered the conduct of manhunt operations for the perpetrators of the gruesome crime against CAA Labawan.

Dilodilo said, “An organization that kills and boasts about killing, threatens to kill, burns capital investments (such as telecommunications towers), murders local government officials and soldiers, is a terrorist group. The people are not labeling when they call the CPP/NPA/NDF as ‘communist terrorists.’ It is their identity.”

1st Lt. Dennis G. Guillermo
Chief, division public affairs office 5th Infantry Division,
Philippine Army Camp Melchor F. Dela Cruz, Gamu, Isabela