Tambuling Batangas Publication June 13-19, 2018 Issue

BALITA Hunyo 13-19, 2018 B a r a n g a y Ta n o d Federation 2nd Quarterly Meeting, Idinaos Tumulong at maging Halimbawa Tayo. Paalala ng Gobernador sa mga Presidente ng MFBT ng lalawigan ng Batangas sa naganap MFBT 2nd Quarterly Meeting. Ang pagtitipon na ito ay tumalakay para tugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng mga nagsisilbi sa pinakamaliit na unit ng pamahalaan. Mark Jonathan M. Macaraig at John Derick Ilagan/Photo by Eric Arellano – Batangas Capitol PIO suplying workers to NutriAsia. “Bawal daw mag-unyon, kalokohan! Gumagawa siya ng sarili niyang batas. Pati palakpak, ginagawan niya ng sariling batas. Wala naman sa batas na bawal ang pagpapalakpak (He said it is prohibited to form a union, what nonsense! Even the clapping of hands is against the law? He is making up these laws. There is nothing in the law that prohibits the clapping of hands),” Gerola said. This is, however, not an isolated incident of violation of workers’ rights in NutriAsia. According to Gerola, who has been an employee of NutriAsia for 14 years now, he received payment for Service Incentive Leave (SIL) only once. Although NutriAsia requires workers to render work for 12 hours, overtime pay is irregular, and they are paid less than the expected amount of their 13th-month pay. The union leader also described how working conditions inside the factory make workers prone to accidents and illnesses. “At work, we could not claim that the workers are safe. The workspaces are too congested, so hot fluid usually spills on the workers’ skins, scalding them. NutriAsia does not bring the workers to their own clinic to avoid having to write an accident report. Instead, they brought the injured to the clinic of the B-Mirk agency. The NutriAsia management threatens those injured that if they report the accident, they will be removed from their jobs,” Gerola said in Filipino. A compliance order and inspection report of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) affirmed these. On Feb. 28 DOLE Regional Office 4-A Director Zenaida Angara-Campita already issued a compliance order for the company to give regular employment status to 914 of its workers. DOLE also found that NutriAsia has been non-compliant with occupational health and safety standards, exposing the workers to excessive heat and not providing any protective equipment. Payment for workers’ uniforms is also deducted from the employee’s wages. According to Gerola, these uniforms cost more than PhP1,000. Intense harassments at the picket line On the first day of the strike, the Bulacan Provincial Police arrived and asked if the strikers had a permit. Gerola said that there was no need, as DOLE has already permitted them to conduct a strike. On the second day, more reinforcements arrived, this time with a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) group. More than 50 armed men — the police and SWAT combined — are currently housed inside the NutriAsia compound. “Ang pulis dapat sa tao nagseserbisyo. Kapag pinrotektahan nila ang isang pribadong kompanya, ang tawag doon ay private army,” a protester said. (“The police are supposed to serve and protect the people. When they protect private companies, they become private armies.”) According to the Guidelines in the Conduct of PNP Personnel, Private Security Guards and Company Guard Forces During Strikes, Lockouts, and Labor Disputes in General, issued by DOLE and the National Police Commission (NPC) in 1997, “The peace keeping detail shall not be stationed in the picket (or confrontation line) but should be stationed such that their presence may deter the commission of criminal acts or any untoward incident from either side. The members of the peace keeping detail shall stay outside a 50 meter radius from the picket line, except, if the 50 meter radius includes a public thoroughfare, they may station themselves in such public thoroughfare for the purpose of ensuring the free flow of traffic.” The police and SWAT, however, are stationed near the strike area, and are even given concessions by the company. According to one of the police who tried to go inside the NutriAsia premises, they had to go there to eat and to use the restroom. The state agents are even reported to be armed with long firearms. When police officers said they already had to leave the premises because it was the end of their shift, a police officer, called “Tongol”, and the strikers, came to an agreement that each police leaving the premises will be replaced by another police officer supposedly to avoid any additional and armed state agents going inside the NutriAsia premises. The police officer also promised to exercise maximum tolerance on the protesters and claimed that they were there only to preserve peace and order. “Kaya sa mga kapulisan na nandito, alam natin kung sino ang pinapanigan niyan, nagkukunwari-kunwari lang na napapagitnaan, pero kailangan nilang mamili ng paninilbihan — kung kanino sila papanig dahil alam naman natin kung sino ang mali at tama. Dahil ang kapitalista, hindi gagawa ng kabutihan para sa mga manggagawa. Ngayon, ang kapitalista, ang management, ginigipit ang mga manggagawa, sa simpleng palakpak lang, tinanggal na sila,” Gerola emphasized. (“We know who the police sides with. They are merely pretending that they are not siding with anyone. They have to choose who to protect — in fact, they should already know who is right and who is wrong. Capitalists do not want anything good for the workers. We can already see how the capitalists, the management, are trying to harass the workers — by removing them merely because they had clapped.”) At 11:00 p.m. in the evening, June 3, Bulatlat received an urgent alert that the Chief of Marilao Police, reportedly a certain “Col. Pangan,” instigated a fight with the strikers. Three workers were injured. The police have also started to bar media personnel and non-NutriAsia workers from entering the main road leading to the factory. Today, the NutriAsia unionists are set to hold a dialogue with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) and DOLE of Bulacan. Gerola hopes that the NutriAsia management will finally face them, after years — and decades, for some — of neglect and exploitation. “KUNG walang Kapayapaan at Kaayusan, walang kaunlaran.” Ito ang sinambit ni Governor Dodo Mandanas sa harap ng mga presidente ng Municipal Federation of Barangay Tanod (MFBT) sa Lalawigan ng Batangas sa isinagawang 2nd Quarterly Meeting ng nasabing samahan noong ika-5 ng Hunyo 2018, na ginanap sa General Miguel Malvar Hall sa People’s Mansion, Capitol Site, Batangas City. Sa kanyang mensahe, inisa-isa niya ang mga planong makakatulong sa mga Barangay Tanod. Una sa mga nabanggit ay ang planong madagdagan ang Honorarium ng mga presidente ng bawat munisipalidad kasama ang mga Chief of Tanod ng bawat barangay. Dito ay mabibigyan sila ng karagdagang 50% increase o 600 piso mula sa 400 piso kada buwan na may kabuuang 1,800 piso kada quarter ng taon. Bukod sa honorarium, hangad din ng Mandanas Administration na makapagbigay ng angkop at sapat na kagamitan na maari nilang magamit upang mapataas ang antas ng kanilang paglilingkod o pagganap sa serbisyo publiko lalo’t higit sa aspeto ng komunikasyon gaya ng pagbibigay ng cellphones at maayos na internet connection sa bawat Barangay Tanod at outpost. Ilan pa sa mga ayudang ipamamahagi ng Pamahalaang Panlalawigan para sa mga tanod ay ang Health Assistance na kung saan pagkakalooban sila ng Batangas Health Card na makatutulong upang mapagaan ang kanilang bayaring medikal; at Educational Assistance para sa kanilang mga anak. Bukod sa mga president at chief of tanod, nakikinabang din sa mga benepisyong ito sa kasalukuyan ang mga Barangay Officials, Barangay Health Workers at Volunteers. Sa hinaharap, sinabi ni Gov. Mandanas na palalawigin pa niya ang sakop ng tulong sa lahat ng naglilingkod sa barangay sa buong lalawigan. Samantala, naging bahagi rin ng pagpupulong ang continuous updating ng masterlist at ang pagpili ng disensyo para sa magiging identification card ng mga Barangay Tanod. Nagbigay rin ng kani-kanilang mensahe sina Atty. Genaro S. Cabral, Department Head ng Provincial Public Order and Safety Department, at si Provincial Association of Barangay Captains President, Board Member Wilfredo Maliksi. – Mark Jonathan M. Macaraig at John Derick Ilagan – Batangas Capitol PIO DOLE offers 30,000 jobs at Independence Day job fair in Manila MANILA—The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will offer more than 30,000 local and overseas employment opportunities to jobseekers on June 12 at the Senior Citizens’ Garden at Rizal Park, Manila. According to DOLE National Capital Region (DOLE- NCR) Regional Director Henry John Jalbuena a total of 73 participating employers (45 local, 20 overseas, and 8 government agencies) will be bringing with them 29,751 local, overseas and government jobs. C o n s t r u c t i o n , transportation, and sales are the local jobs with the most number of vacancies. Among the vacancies in the construction industry are CIP installers, welders, masons/finishing masons, carpenters, leadman, scaffolders, painter, steelman, tinsmith, and tilesetter. Other vacancies include drivers, mechanics, and bus conductors in the field of transportation; and customer service consultants, pharmacy assistants, financial consultants, merchandisers, and cashiers in the field of sales and service. For those seeking overseas employment, top vacancies include service/hotel workers, general labor/ technician, forecourt (petrol filler), butcher (supermarket), hospital workers, nurses, engineers, labor workers, sales personnel, and carpenters. Meanwhile, there are vacancies in the government sector such as architect, planning assistant, lawyer, project evaluation officer, draftsman, stenographic reporter, engineer, stenographer, planning officer, and traffic constable at the Metro Manila Development Authority; Fire Officer I at the Bureau of Fire Protection ; and administrative, technical supervisor, and division chief level positions at the Department of Trade and Industry. Employment opportunities will also be made available by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Social Housing Finance Corp. There will be pre- employment services from the Social Security System, Pag-IBIG, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Statistics Authority, Professional Regulation Commission, and Bureau of Internal Revenue. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will offer free haircut and massage services. The labor department has organized Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan (TNK) job and business fair in 19 sites nationwide, in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence carrying the theme: “Kalayaan 2018 Pagbabagong Ipinaglaban, Alay sa Masaganang Kinabukasan.” (SDL/ PIA-NCR with reports from DOLE)

Tambuling Batangas Publication June 13-19, 2018 Issue | Page 3