Labor prospects under the next president
Our staff conducted an informal survey across the different sectors of the working class in Cebu and across the nation, and they have listed the major problems that must be addressed by the next set of national leaders, most especially by the incoming president and vice president.
The number one problem identified is unemployment and underemployment. The second one is inadequate wages and insufficient safety nets for wage-earners, and third is the recurrent inadequacy of workers' protection for OFWs. There are some other problems but we opt to focus on these critical few.
Then, the workers were asked on their choice for president and vice president and some senators and to link such choices to the top labor problems in the country today. On the three leading labor problems and challenges, the survey respondents do not believe that an ilustrado ad haciendero like former secretary Mar Roxas is most likely to pursue a pro-labor government agenda. On the contrary, they fear that Roxas may just perpetuate the programs of the current administration, which, as we all know, have miserably failed to solve unemployment and underemployment. The Daang Matuwid ignores the unemployment problem.
The workers also do not believe that Vice President Jejomar Binay can effectively address the leading labor problems. The vice president has not made a dent in the problems confronting the Filipino migrant workers. He has been given by PNoy six years to oversee the oversea employment program. His involvements were limited to pleading before kings and ministers to spare the lives of Filipinos abroad who were convicted of drug-related crimes and other legal issues confronting OFWs.
Grace Poe, according to the surveyed workers, is ''too hilaw'' and inexperienced to carry the load of solving all the labor problems. They say that she is inexperienced, too theoretical, has no empirical account of expertise, even a fundamental understanding of basic labor issues. And Madame Miriam is too sick, albeit she is really intellectually gifted. Binay is too morally ''pulverized'' by the strings of alleged cases filed against him.
The working class, represented by the respondents surveyed, do believe that Mayor Rody Duterte is most likely to pursue a comprehensive and coherent set of labor agenda. He comes from the working class and he has always remained grounded in relation to the workers in Davao and in the whole country. Thus, this Labor Day marks the crossroad, whereby the voters who are mostly of the laboring class, would make the decision to elect one of their kind. What matters most is that the working class happens to be the biggest sector among the electorate. Therefore, I can now predict the winner nine days from today.
And I'm sorry, it is not Grace Poe, nor Mar Roxas, nor Binay nor the lady Miriam.
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