In a statement released during the Second Congress of PLM (Partido Lakas ng Masa) at the University of the Philippines on November 29, the newly-formed militant political party vows to wage a campaign against the Philippine Development Plan and the Public-Partnership Program undertaken by the Noynoy Aquino administration. The PLM rejects the PDP and PPP projects as mere continuation of the neoliberal policies that have wreaked havoc on the Philippine economy since its implementation by succeeding Edsa administrations after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
PLM said, “We reject the neoliberal policies being implemented by President Benigno Aquino III’s administration. We reject the government’s plan to continue with the policies of widespread privatization of remaining government assets and projects, economic liberalization, deregulation, regressive taxation, and other measures which have been found to be a burden to the population and a boon to only a select few in the country. The select few represent the big foreign and local corporations who stand to gain in these measures, which also include the implementation of rampant contractualization of labor in industries.”
Sonny Melencio, chairperson of PLM, said that, “Instead of alleviating poverty in the country, the Noynoy government has intensified poverty by continuing with the neoliberal policies of the past administrations. The latest SWS survey put the number of families who considered themselves poor at 52% of the total family households in the country.”
“We demand that instead of neoliberal policies, the Aquino government should work towards the expansion of social and welfare services that the people badly needs today. Instead of privatization, the government should expand publicly-owned institutions, such as hospitals, schools, public transport, communications industry, and other industries which are now being opened up for private corporations through the so-called public-private partnerships. Instead of economic liberalization, the government should protect Philippine industries. Instead of deregulation, there should be more regulatory mechanisms to protect consumers; instead of regressive taxation, the government should tax the rich and not the poor people; and instead of contractualization of labor, the workers should be assured of regular jobs and security of tenure, “ Melencio added.
While rejecting the neoliberal paradigm of the government, Melencio said that the PLM will campaign for a Welfare State system that expands social services for the population and provides for universal health care, affordable mass housing, food subsidies, free education, and other urgent welfare benefits for the poor. “The welfare state system should also be deepened and strengthened by ensuring people's control and participation in the state system. It’s about time that the government puts people’s interests first on its agenda, rather than the interests of a few greedy corporations,” Melencio stressed. #
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