Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
During the Labor Day celebration
Delivered at the NFA MINPROCOR Compound, San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City, May 1, 1994]
A new spirit, a new unity
ANG PAGTITIPON natin sa agahang ito ay sagisag ng ating pagkakaisa at pakikiisa sa lahat ng mga manggagawang Pilipino sa loob at labas ng ating bansa.
Kapansin-pansin ang kaibahan sa mga nagdaang pagdiriwang ang ating sama-samang paggunita sa Araw ng Paggawa sa taong ito.
Marahil, sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon tayo ay hindi nakatuon lamang sa buslo ng benepisyo na karaniwang hinihingi ng mga manggagawa, at bilang ganti ay tinutugon naman ng Pamahalaan.
Bagama’t hindi natin lubusang iwinawaaksi ang ganitong tradisyon, nakasentro ang ating okasyon ngayon sa mga ginagawa at inilulunsad ng buong tiwala ng mga manggagawa bilang kanilang kontribusyon sa ating “Philippines 2000.”
Masasabing ang bagong pagtitiwala ng mga manggagawa sa kanyang sariling kakayahan at may mga matibay na bayatan. Sa loob ng nakalipas na dalawampo’t dalawang buwan na aking panunungkulan, buong tiyaga at walang patid na itinayo natin ang mga pundasyon para sa tuloy-tuloy na pag-unlad at pagsulong ng bansa.
It is with this realization that yesterday I signed a proclamation declaring the first week of May Labor Week. The week shall be highlighted by activities supportive of worker empowerment, farmers’ and fishers’ cooperatives, and industrial peace.
Ang mga kinakailangan reporma ng pang-ekonomiya at pang-institusyon ay atin ding isinagawa at patuloy na ipatutupad—kagaya ng privatization, liberalization of trade, more progressive and effective tax measures, pagbubuwag ng monopoliya, tighter control sa mga gastusin ng Gobyerno, price stabilization, pagpapayabong sa mga kooperatiba at bureaucratic responsiveness.
Bilang karagdagan, pinagtuunan din natin ng pansin ang natutungkol sa physical and social infrastructure. Nalutas na natin ang power crisis. Ganoon din naman, naglunsad tayo ng health reforms at nadagdagan ang mga social and welfare benefits.
A national jobs program
We have also adopted a national jobs program. Along with it, we will continue to strengthen training and counseling services—including technical assistance to promote livelihood and self-employment.
The plan aims to create jobs at the rate of 1.1 million yearly. It intends to reduce unemployment from 9.3 percent to 6.3 percent; and underemployment from 19.3 percent to 13.8 percent by 1998.
With the reforms already in place and our continuing commitment to work even harder, our economy should grow by at least 4.5 percent this year and by around 6 percent by 1995.
Our people are sought out as skilled workers by foreign countries. All over the world, Filipino workers are preferred for their skills and discipline in the workplace, as well as for their good manners and unusually quick and good-natured integration into their host communities.
The Filipino overseas worker has become one of the true heroes of economic recovery and national development. Your contributions help lift our troubled economy and lay the foundation for future growth.
The Filipino overseas worker is absolutely critical to Philippine development. Because you are a most valuable national resource, we shall go to all lengths to protect your rights and advance your interests. Our Government will stand by you. This is my pledge to our more than one million overseas workers.
But between now and “Philippines 2000,” we have a long arduous way to go. Given our diverse wills and objectives, success depends on how we can attain effective political unity.
Political unity—indeed—as a continuing challenge not only to the labor movement but also to the entire Filipino nation.
For us to achieve lasting political unity, we must deliver ourselves from the vicious habit of divisiveness. Unions must not only cultivate a tolerance of others but build bridges to ensure a peaceful, dynamic and productive coexistence.
A new cooperative owned and run by workers
Later this morning, the ground-breaking ceremonies will be held for a new cooperative to be owned and operated entirely by workers. This cooperative is based on the time tested principle of self-help—and picks up from the unity displayed by the Federation of Free Workers, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and the Lakas Manggagawa Labor Center in 1990, when they established a workers’ fund.
This fund shall now finance the operations of this new cooperative, which we shall call simply the “Workers’ Mart.”
Workers’ Mart is a market of modest stocks but ambitious intentions. It will sell the staples, including rice and sugar our brothers in the countryside have just harvested. These staples it will sell to workers at lower prices than those prevailing in commercial markets—because the stocks are to be drawn directly from producers.
As we celebrate Labor Day, our first Workers’ Mart should be an appropriate metaphor for the kind of dynamic unity and strength the labor movement must forge to remain relevant in a market-driven world.
My fellow workers:
Our pluralist democracy is founded on the principle of people empowerment in political diversity. We cannot expect—we do not expect—our labor movement to be unified on ideological grounds.
But our labor movement can certainly transcend its ideological differences—particularly now that the Age of Ideology is over. It can be politically unified by a shared vision, a common goal—because political unity is nothing more than a consensus to work together, independent of ideological motives, toward the social well-being of the Filipinos and the economic progress of the Filipino nation, including and especially its workers.
What Government is prepared to do
Bilang kabahagi sa inyong mithiin, ang Pamahalaan ay magsusumikap na palakasin pang lalo ang hanay ng mga manggagawa at pag-uukulan natin ng mataas na pagpapahalaga at paggalang ang makatwirang paggamit ng karapatang mag-organisa.
Government shall ensure that labor standards are humane, decent and adequate. Here and now, I pledge to you, the representatives and leaders of our working people, that:
- There shall be no cheap labor in this country.
- There shall be equity in employment opportunity and benefits at all times.
- There shall be no sexual harassment in any form.
- There shall be no exploitation of children and women.
To this, my Administration and I are committed: to advance workers’ rights as well as labor standards as our economy develops.
Government shall also ensure that all workers receive decent and affordable housing. Again, the Workers’ Fund can be used for this purpose.
Nasabi sa akin ang masidhi ninyong hangaring makakita ng “raw land” upang gawaing isang “Workers’ Village.”
Kaugnay nito, inaatasan ko ang Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council na bumalangkas ng isang integrated housing master plan—sa loob ng tatlong buwan—na mag-uukol ng bahagi para sa isang Workers’ Village sa lupa ng Gobyerno sa Moonwalk, Parañaque.
Tinatagubilinan ko rin ang Council na palawakin ang program nito sa pabahay—ang “guarantee facility” para sa housing projects ng mga manggagawa na nagtratrabaho sa mga pangunahing industrial estates o mga “growth areas.”
Ito’y tutugon hindi lamang sa suliranin sa pabahay ng mga manggagawa sa industrial zones. Maaaring mabawasan o maiwasan dahil dito pati ang problema sa transportasyon at “squatting.”
Labor justice shall not be delayed
Pang-samantala, ang National Home Mortgage and Finance Corporation ay inaatasan ko na pabilisin ang pag-proseso sa mga aplikasyon ng inihahain ng mga manggagawa upang ang pagkakaroon nila ng sariling lupa at bahay ay mapabilis din.
Inaatasan ko rin ang Department of Budget and Management ng madaliang pagpapalabas ng P127 milyong pondo na nauukol sa Workers’ Organization and Development Program. Kaugnay nito, magkakaloob ang Department of Labor and Employment ng mga sumusunod na halaga mula sa pondong nabanggit: P6 milyon para sa KAMPI upang magamit sa pagsasanay tungo sa pagbubuo at pagpapaunlad ng mga kooperatiba at pangangalakal; at P3 milyon para sa Pambansang Tagapag-ugnay ng mga Manggagawa sa Bahay upang lumawak ang kaniyang mga kooperatiba at iba pang proyektong pangkabuhayan.
Government shall further ensure that the dispensation of labor justice is not delayed. To expedite the disposition of labor cases, I sign today a new law amending the Labor Code which vests concurrent jurisdiction in the first, second, and the divisions of the National Labor Relations Commission.
Last year I directed the Commission to reduce its case backlog by 60 percent—by December. Now I am told the Commission should achieve zero backlog by the end of this year.
Government shall also continue to promote a harmonious industrial climate. We shall insist on maximum restraint in the use of lockouts and strikes—and on bilateral and tripartite consensus. And I assure you, labor shall continue to have an effective voice—not just in Congress but also in the various policy-making boards. To this end, I announce that there shall be labor representatives in all NEDA board committees.
Acknowledgment of labor cooperation
Sa puntong ito, nais kong kilalanin at pahalagahan ang pagtuloy at pataas na kahandaan ng organisadong sektor na magbalangkas at pumaloob sa mga “social pacts.”
Ganoon din naman, pinupuri ko ang inyong aktibong pakikilahok sa mga tripartite forum. Kaugnay nito, inaasahan ko ang inyong masigasig na paglahok sa gaganaping National Tripartite Conference sa kalagitnaan ng Hulyo, upang tapusin na ang pangkabuuang pagsusuri at pagrepaso nga Labor Code.
I also acknowledge the participation of organized labor in the consultations that resolved the petitions for wage increases and the rollback of oil prices.
I ask you to continue to take an active part in forming and implementing the national development agenda that supports structural reforms—particularly the liberalization of trade, investment and fiscal policies, and full-scale development of our human resources.
The way ahead will be long and hard.
But for as long as we share the sacrifices equitably—spreading safety nets for the most vulnerable social groups—then we will endure and prevail as a united people.
The union movement must share with its social partners the burden of retraining workers who may be displaced by structural reforms.
Relevant to this, I recently signed into law the Dual-Tech Program, which will combine in-plant with in-social training for all our young people who take up vocational and technical education.
In connection with social welfare and safety nets, I also sign into law today the bill allowing the portability of GSIS and SSS benefits.
I am pleased to approve also the recommendation of the Social Security Commission increasing by five percent across the board the monthly pensions of Social Security pensioners. This increase, which takes effect today, should help ameliorate the economic difficulties our pensioners may be facing. It will require no increase in the rate of contribution, and will come entirely out of the Social Security Fund.
Hinihintay ko rin ang mga panukalang batas na magmumula sa Department of Labor and Employment tungkol sa Unemployment Assistance Program at isang National Health Insurance Program upang ang mga ito’y masertipikahan ko sa Kongreso.
Industrial and political stability
I also ask you, the leaders of the trade-union movement, to continue supporting the peace process—especially in the context of promoting industrial and political stability.
Above any sectoral interest of labor, political stability is the single, most important precondition for us to attract investments and generate more job opportunities for our workpeople. Without political stability, the labor movement can achieve neither real economic empowerment nor lasting unity.
Let me sum up my message to you on this May Day of 1994.
I am happy at the new spirit, the new sense of unity that you in the labor movement have forged for yourselves. This new unity will enable labor to speak with a more authoritative voice in our tripartite councils.
Because you are stronger, reciprocity—which is the essence of the industrial peace—should be easier for us to organize and achieve. Because you will be more self-confident, I expect you will also accept compromise with greater grace.
Reciprocity and compromise are the components of our tripartite social pact, which we shall need to renew—if the promise our economy has begun to show is to be fulfilled. Only by such Social Pacts for Empowered Economic Development can democracies like ours make their way toward newly industrializing country status.
Discarded formulas
Some people continue to insist that a liberal democracy is not the appropriate political system for our country. They wrongly believe we Filipinos need authoritarian because we are an undisciplined and socially irresponsible people.
Others preach that only the fire of revolution will cleanse us of our historical flaws.
I disagree with these discarded formulas, which our people have found unacceptable.
Nais kong bigyang diin na ang bunga ng demokrasya sa ating bansa ay hindi maaring yumabong sa pamamagitan ng pagsikil ng mga karapatan, o kayay makamtan pagdanak ng dugo.
Only men of peace—through the implements of peace—can achieve true democracy.
Wala tayong matatamo mula sa di-pagkakaisa at paghati-hati. Pagkakapit-bisig ang tanging paraan upang mabilis na matamo ang mga pangarap at hangarin ng ating mamamayan.
Kayo ang bumalangkas ng bagong anyo ng pagsasamahan. Ngayon, pangunahan ninyo ang landas natin tungo sa tagumpay.