As COVID-19 wipes out whatever is left of the limited opportunities for Filipinos to earn a living, the Duterte administration’s lacking response, combined with an oppressive political environment, creates conditions for a perfect storm of social unrest.
“We have the worst hunger, unemployment, killings and when we protest and organize we are called ‘criminals.’”
President Rodrigo Duterte has denied ordering the arrest of “istambay” (the plural form of Filipino nouns is not formed with an “s”) despite the Philippine National Police’s detention of over 7,000 mostly young people, and the death, most likely through a police beating, of at least one individual who had stepped shirtless out of his…
“We will never attain comfort under this government which has no compassion for the sufferings of the Filipino people”.
“All public officials who claim to be serving Filipinos should echo the call to save Mary Jane’s life.”
“No matter how much you trim the statistics of the unemployed, if you don’t grab the problem by its roots, it will still sprout.” — A college grad last year who hopes to find a job
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Last week, reacting to the result of a Social Weather Station survey showing that joblessness had risen to 27.5% in the last quarter of 2013, President Aquino convened a full Cabinet meeting, which he rarely calls. An “action plan for poverty reduction” was tackled,…
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld NO, this isn’t about Benigno Aquino III’s latest love object this Valentine’s Day, but about the jobless. The President of the Philippines, who’s been crowing over the 7.2% growth of the economy, was described in one broadsheet account early this week as “baffled” by the rise in…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective President Benigno Aquino III reportedly called a Cabinet meeting after the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released the result of its recent survey showing that the unemployment rate rose to 27.5 percent, affecting an estimated 12.1 million Filipinos. Around 2.5 million Filipinos lost their jobs between September and December last year.…
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
“Only through taking steps in building the domestic economy and ensuring social welfare intervention can joblessness and forced migration be truly addressed. Without these, the Philippine economy cannot be a rising tiger, only a mythical beast feasting on the desperation of our Filipino labor force.” – Migrante
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – In 2012, the incomes of the Filipino working population shrunk further compared to the rising cost of living, their recorded productivity and, based on news reports, growing revenues of companies. Considering that 2012 precedes an election year, the Aquino government only responded to decade-long calls of organized labor for…