OPINION: A LITTLE LIGHT, AT SUNSET
MANILA, APRIL 29, 2008 (MANILA TIMES) A SMALL victory for the Filipino war veterans is the passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill last week in the United States Senate. Recognition for the valor of Filipinos who fought for the defense of the United States and the Philippines during World War II came 62 years late. The beneficiaries—a small band of venerable citizens—are falling in numbers as age, disease and death decimate their ranks.
It would not be surprising if President Bush vetoes the bill if it passes the House and the lawmakers agree on an omnibus model. Washington reports say the White House has opposed the measure, believing the little money it provides is better spent on America’s adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There is little to cheer about the Senate gesture. Of course the bill passed by a wide margin. And Filipinos (and Americans of Filipino descent) have confirmed anew they could count on Senators Daniel Inouye, Hillary Clinton and others who know how to recognize a debt and how to fulfill a promise.
US military aid to the Philippines, the observers remind us, is a pittance and is always at risk of diminution. Perhaps we should not complain because the Philippine Senate closed down the US military bases in the 1990s and President Arroyo backed out of the US-led war in Iraq over the fate of a Filipino overseas worker.
America places its veterans high on the national pantheon. It sets aside a day of the year to pay them homage. To optimize services, the government in 1989 elevated the Veterans Administration to a full-blown Cabinet department. The nation’s highest honors are conferred on its bravest officers and soldiers.
Filipinos, too, regard their veterans as pillars of the community. Their record is outstanding: fighting for freedom in the last world war, in several foreign conflicts, and keeping peace in troubled countries. In the 1890s, Filipino troops—short in arms and bodies—fought two colonial armies, the Spaniards and the Americans, in succession.
Two weeks ago President Arroyo signed a bill expanding their rights and benefits. It wasn’t about the money and the little security it promised. It was a matter of honor and dignity. But there is a shortage of memory and respect across the Pacific.
After the Filipino-American War, American authors and textbooks referred to the bloody conflict as the “Philippine Insurrection” as if the Filipinos had rebelled against an established government. The Filipinos who fought for freedom along with Americans in Bataan and in the hills during the enemy occupation had to fight for their rights for 62 years. They got some money last week, but, we think, little respect.
Roque must labor hard
IT’S not too late to congratulate the new Labor secretary whose appointment was announced by President Arroyo at a business launch in Laguna two weeks ago.
We are pleased that Marianito Roque, formerly Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief, got the job over several politicians who wanted the office. Roque is a labor professional who saw the creation of the overseas employment program from the start and witnessed its evolution into a major development tool of government.
Boosting jobs
His principal priority is to boost jobs in the Philippines and to promote Filipino professionals and skills overseas. The protection of our OFWs is a paramount concern.
Along with jobs, he should see to the quality of employment. Improvements in wages should be a continuing concern so that workers could meet both their daily needs and still enjoy surplus income. He faces a mightier problem in underemployment, the millions of Filipinos who do not earn enough and must moonlight to survive.
Industrial peace is key to economic growth and DOLE has done a good job maintaining labor-management harmony. But human dignity should not be sacrificed in the name of labor peace.
Emergency employment program
Roque should continually promote voluntary arbitration and mediation as a way of addressing labor disputes. Alternative dispute resolutions are less expensive and often more productive than the formal methods of the National Labor Relations Commission.
He ought to consider a kind of emergency employment program for the jobless who cannot afford cheap rice and all basic needs. The Blas F. Ople Policy Institute, a labor think tank, strongly advocates an emergency work scheme in the interim.
Occupational safety and health is vital in the workplace. Accidents and diseases thrive in many occupations and industries, including construction, fireworks and business outsourcing.
Labor contracting, work permits
Abolish the labor-contracting provision in the Labor Code to end the practice of making apprenticeship and probation a lifetime prospect and that allows employers to avoid their responsibilities to their workers.
A review of the work permit program for aliens of the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Immigration is necessary to satisfy public concern that these permits are being issued indiscriminately even for jobs that could be done by Filipinos.
As Labor Day approaches, more suggestions, such as those from the Ople think tank will arise for Secretary Roque. He will have a busy term ahead ensuring employment promotion, labor protection and industrial peace.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2008
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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