Workers slam P10B budget for APEC

PAGKAKAISA NG MANGGAGAWA SA TIMOG KATAGALUGAN – KILUSANG MAYO UNO
(PAMANTIK-KMU)

PRESS STATEMENT
NOVEMBER 10, 2015

Reference Person:
Allan Bagas, Secretary General
PAMANTIK-KMU
09393508106

Southern Tagalog workers slam P10B budget for APEC meet

 

“Even if more than 40 meetings were held before the big APEC event on Nov. 18-19, the P10 billion budget allotment is just too extravagant,” said PAMANTIK-KMU Secretary General Allan Bagas.

 

For the Aquino government that claims it is advancing the welfare of the common people through matuwid na daan, spending billions of pesos on world leaders’ meeting is never an exemplar of a genuinely pro-people governance. 

 

The Southern Tagalog workers, 80-90% of whom are contractuals, have to budget every day an inhumane minimum wage of P219 to 362.50. If the Aquino government would want to set an example, it would not show the Filipino people that it is pampering a few through lavish spending.

 

PAMANTIK-KMU also slams the “Building Inclusive Economies, Better a Better World” APEC theme, as it continues to disillusion the people that their lives improve as the economy grows.

 

Bagas stressed, “Under the Aquino government, there is continuous economic gains which doubled or tripled the capitalists’ profits while more workers become victims of contractualization. Contractual workers, on the other hand, received very cheap wages with no benefits while exposed to systematic unfair labor practices.”

 

“Workers from the region will join the nationwide protest to expose APEC and its collaboration with the Aquino government to further exploit the people and our natural resources. Our country is rich but tens of millions of people are poor. We don’t need exploitative multi-lateral organizations. We can stand on our own because we have everything we need,” Bagas ended.

###