The sad state of our Filipino workers

The election campaign sorties are in its final stretch as judgment day comes to an end next week. Who will win? Who has made a lasting impression on the general public? Who has the charisma to influence voters’ decision? Will we finally elect the right leaders who will serve the country? Let’s wait and see!

We have been watching the senatorial bets so closely that we lost track of the congressmen, mayors, barangay officials and party-list candidates who will spend our money (our hard earned tax-money) as they supposedly serve our communities. Politics has really become a business for people who know how to take advantage of it. Let’s continue to pray that God enlighten these men and women in public office.

The best thing we can do right now is to support the COMELEC in its pursuit for clean and honest elections. As we watch their very moves to guard our ballots, we must also help this commission do their job well. Under the law they are the only office legally in charge of elections from the filing of the candidacies, the campaign period, election day, to the announcement of winners. The COMELEC ruling should be followed, respected and only questioned when there is a strong reason to do so. The technical flaws and issues experienced today must be noted so that they can improve on it for the next election. As you very well know, it is too late right now to make changes.

Noting the different groups running in this mid-year election, I am quite perturbed about the Party List groups. Many of them seem authentic but the trapos seemed to have found their way in unnoticed and in style. Party List groups should be represented by marginalized groups not ex-government aficionados. How do you explain the emergence of retired generals and ex-government officials as nominees who obviously do not represent the marginalized sectors of society?

The Supreme Court in its latest decision modified the absolute requirement of marginalization as a pre-requisite for accreditation and explained: “Belonging to the “marginalized and underrepresented” sector does not mean one must “wallow in poverty, destitution or infirmity.” It is sufficient that one, or his or her sector, is below the middle class.”

“A party-list nominee must be a bona fide member of the party or organization which he or she seeks to represent. In the case of sectoral parties, to be a bona fide party-list nominee one must either belong to the sector represented, or have a track record of advocacy for such sector.” So make sure you know the Party List groups you are voting for. Don’t be fooled by shadows that used to lurk in our dark past.

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We just celebrated ‘Labor Day’ amidst labor groups’ pleas for security of tenure, wage increase and cries to address extrajudicial killings, protect informal settlers and to pass the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI).

P-Noy said that his administration is committed to generate more jobs, protect the rights of laborers and enforce the country’s labor laws. According to the National Statistics Office, 7.1 percent of the 9.8 million Filipinos remain unemployed as of January 2013. Although P-Noy did not grant all wage related pleas, he said that he has already signed two executive orders (EO) to equalize compensation benefits of government employees and workers from the private sector.

For very obvious reasons, all the responses to the cries of our labor groups did not sit well with them. They expected the President to sympathize and realize that their calls have important merits. The stark reality is that up to this time they still find themselves in miserable situations whether employed, underemployed, self-employed or unemployed. Latest report has it that the low wage income from employment or self-employment and high unemployment and underemployment rates are the reasons poverty incidence is still high in the country despite improved performance of the economy.

At present, the daily minimum wage set by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for non-agriculture workers varies from P419 to P456 in the NCR, the highest, to P205 to P275 in Region IV-B or MIMAROPA, the lowest. It is P282 to P327 for the Central Visayas Region. Multiply the daily minimum wage by 24 or the average number of working days in a month and one gets the monthly minimum wage. After deducting the contributions to SSS, Philhealth and Pag-ibig, the minimum wage earner takes home a very small amount.

Ideally, the basic cost of living in the city for a family of four inclusive of electricity, water, LPG, food, transportation, house rent (budget is only good for a room in the informal settlers area), school supplies, toiletries, medicine, clothing amounts to P624 per day or P18,056 per month excluding education (granting the children attends public school). If the wage earner gets the minimum wage (according to law) of P456 per day, he gets P11,932 per month. This is P6,124 less than the amount needed for the family to live comfortably.

For provincial living, a family of four will need P390.67 per day or P11,656 per month to meet the basic needs. If the wage earner gets a minimum wage (according to law) of P275 per day or P6,600 per month, it means that the salary is not enough to cover the family’s basic needs.

The percentage of Filipinos living below the poverty line has remained almost unchanged in the past six years. To live comfortably, both husband and wife should work to share the family’s expenses. However, our culture dictates otherwise. The wife stays home and takes care of the children. The government should consider taking a four-way solution to this problem. First, create ways to ensure the safety of children left at home when both parents are at work (a free daycare center in every barangay); second, create more jobs; third, take the necessary measures on family planning; and lastly, raise the minimum wage of the Filipino worker.

F. Sionil Jose, in his article on Why Are Filipinos So Poor said, “We are poor because our people are lazy. I pass by a slum area every morning – dozens of adults do nothing but idle, gossip and drink…We are poor because our nationalism is inward looking. Under its guise we protect inefficient industries and monopolies. We did not pursue agrarian reform like Japan and Taiwan… Finally, we are poor because we have lost our ethical moorings. We condone cronyism and corruption and we don’t ostracize or punish the crooks in our midst. Both cronyism and corruption are wasteful but we allow their practice because our loyalty is to family, or friend, not to the larger good. We are our own enemy. And we must have the courage, the will, to change ourselves.”

F. Sionil is right! Many of our people are lazy but there are also those who work hard day and night and yet government continues to deny them proper compensation to elevate their lives. The present minimum wage just won’t do! I rest my case.