"The supervening event of a very high inflation is enough reason to raise the wages of workers, salaries of employees and livelihoods of [Filipinos]."
Farmers said Marcos Jr's decision to give priority to debt servicing and infrastructure during this period of worsening food crisis is telling of what’s in store for Filipinos in the next six years.
"What follows the food crisis will be the worsening hunger of the people.”
“What good are farm-to-market roads if they do not have anything to transport? Agriculture and fisheries productivity has worsened due to continuous hikes in production costs."
"It's not just because of the Duterte administration, it's because of decades of accumulating policies which started during the Marcos dictatorship."
“Marcos Jr. 's disbelief at the rising inflation rate shows his nonchalant attitude and extreme disconnect with the hardship experienced by Filipinos. His life of opulence is far from what ordinary hand-to-mouth Filipinos go through."
Marcos Jr. has yet to complete his list of cabinet members but several of those identified have been found to be from the family’s bailiwick, the Ilocos region, or linked to his father's appointees.
A labor group assailed the Department of Finance’s proposed tax reform for the new administration, saying the government apparently does not care on people’s welfare.
Dev't groups say Filipinos are seeking tangible solutions, looking at the upcoming election as a turning point for democracy and development.
"The next administration must do away with previous and existing neoliberal policies that wreaked havoc on our agriculture and productive forces.”
Filipino farmers are urging the Department of Trade and Industry to implement measures like price ceiling and buffer fund to address increasing prices of basic goods and necessities.
As another Marcos threatens to return to power, hundreds of millions in ill-gotten wealth have yet to be returned to the Filipino people.
A support organization of families and friends of political prisoners in the Philippines talked about the challenges faced by persons deprived of liberty in terms of access to hygiene and other gender-specific services and how to advocate for the rights inside places of detention.
A regional network of environmentalists called on international human rights bodies to pay close attention and actively condemn humans rights violations committed by governments and mining corporations during the pandemic and the recovery period to follow.
“Importing fish, especially the kind common in the Philippine waters, is akin to importing agricultural staples that could be grown in Philippine soil.”
A fishers group has called for government intervention in controlling the price of round scad or galunggong and to lift the closed fishing season to address the alleged shortage of fish in the market.
"If they continue to push farmers to plant high-value crops (HVCs) that the country can export overseas, the Filipinos will only harvest hunger.”
Anakpawis Party-list First Nominee Rafael Mariano said, “We have been calling for free mass testing and medical support since 2020. These are the fundamental concerns of poor families, they are not able to take the test immediately and still want to work so that the family can have something to eat.”
“It is what encouraged me [to join Kabataan Partylist], that I don’t have to be within the four walls of the Church to serve. I was also taught the importance of reaching out to the poor because Christ’s mission was and will always be for the oppressed."
With world leaders holding a summit to agree on how to fight the climate crisis, an international environmental group is pointing out the obvious and how it is “particularly insulting” that one of the world’s biggest single-use plastic polluters is among its principal partners.
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