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Issue No. 24                        July 29-August 4,  2001                    Quezon City, Philippines

We Are Betrayed But Undaunted

Today, Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong join the Filipino People as they once again take to the streets in the Philippines to welcome President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's first "State of the Nation Address" by a mammoth protest action as a strong reminder for her betrayal of the people's interest.

It has been six long months since the ascension to Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the Filipino people that brought her to power including millions of overseas Filipinos, has long been forgotten.

Six months ago, Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong took to the streets calling for the ouster of former President Estrada. We did so because we knew that there is no hope under the leadership of a corrupt, criminal and incompetent president like Estrada. We were somehow expecting at least some changes in government policies that will bring-about better protection and services to migrant workers without worrying about paying exorbitant government fees.

Even before the EDSA 2 or People Power 2 uprising, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, then the Vice-President of the Philippines, conducted a series of dialogues with different sectoral organizations under the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN  New Patriotic Alliance). The organizations representing the workers, peasants, youth and students, government employees, fisherfolk, professionals and overseas Filipinos and families laid their demands dubbed as the Peoples' Agenda.

Promises were given to hopeful Filipinos by the Vice-President... that upon her ascension as President, those demands would be met with immediate action by the new government under her leadership.

Six long months and not one in the long list of people's demands attracted the attention of the newly installed President. Instead, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is busy replicating the pro-poor stance of her predecessor by calling herself "Ate Glo", visiting squatter areas in Metro Manila and distributing bags of goodies to poor families. Not bad for one meal. But the Filipino people need more than just a bag of goodies and a handshake from the President.

Workers need an increase in their wages, government employees need an increase in their salaries, teachers need their unpaid bonuses and allowances and higher salaries, the unemployed need jobs, peasants need

land to till, students need better and affordable if not free education while migrant workers need protection to their rights and welfare and an end to government exactions through exorbitant and unreasonable fees. The Filipino people demands justice through a speedy trial, conviction and punishment of Estrada and his cronies.

Only six months in power and she already betrayed the people by continuing the militarist policy of Estrada in her approach to resolving the conflict in Mindanao. While talking peace with the National Democratic Front of The Philippines (NDFP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), she promised 14 billion pesos of additional budget for the military mostly for its modernization. She endorsed and fast-tracked the passage of the Omnibus Power Bill, which privatize the National Power Corporation (NPC) and will result to massive lay-off of NPC workers and making power rates unaffordable to most consumers like what happened when they privatized the water system. Tuition increased in public and private schools, colleges and universities making education affordable only for the rich and forcing more students to drop out. Oil prices increased by 84 centavos per liter in just two months.

With our families back home and their needs and expenses becoming more and more unbearable, we migrant workers are taking the brunt of this crisis.

We should not take this sitting down and wait for miracles to happen. We should continue our militancy and warn the Macapagal-Arroyo government that we are not happy with the way things are going. We will not think twice to go back to the streets and call for lasting social changes.

23 July 2001
United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-HK)

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