CEBU, Philippines - A group of volunteers organized as an “army” has tasked themselves to carry out the vision of the administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in their own way because they believe that now is the time for the government and the people to unite and work as one for the political change they want.
They call themselves Pinoy Yellow Army (PYA) where “Pinoy” symbolizes the broad masse of the Filipino people including the workers, farmers, drivers, students and businessmen among others while “Yellow” delineates adherence to the ideology of the Aquino government and “Army” means that they are not an armed group but follows the martial tradition of discipline, dedication and commitment.
PYA’s founder Bishop Nilo Tayag said that their group is not so much pro-government but is also not anti-government.
Their main objective remains to always protect the rights and interest of the people while encouraging them to cooperate with the programs of the government.
“We will serve as the mediator between the people and the government. While we communicate to the people the plans of the government, we will also communicate to the government the sentiments of the people. With so many things to be done for this country, President Noy cannot do it alone, so that’s where Pinoy Yellow Army comes in,” Tayag said.
PYA was convened last July 7 in Central Luzon and has recruited hundreds of thousands of groups and individuals willing to help them.
Tayag said that one of their priorities is to ask the help of the government to provide better condition for the working sector.
Meanwhile, Tayag said that Cebu deserves a wage increase equivalent to that approved for workers in Manila.
The P18 wage increase approved for workers here is P4 less than what was granted to workers in the capital.
He explained that Cebu is an urbanized area so it should be at par with Manila in terms of wage rate.
“The government must increase wages and not taxes. Effective demand of workers will stimulate further the economy. We will personally appeal for this to the President,” Tayag said.
The whole Region 7 will start implementing a uniform increase of P18 pesos starting next month.
The local wage board headed by DOLE-7 director Elias Cayanong said that they cannot go beyond P18 because they can no longer justify any amount beyond that because Central Visayas has one of the lowest inflation rates at three percent.
Aside from pushing for better condition of the labor sector, Tayag said that talks are on going between the PYA and the leftists or the militant groups.
“We hope to get their cooperation para instead of violence, we will convince them to support the Army,” said Grace Santos, PYA’s regional chairperson. (THE FREEMAN)