Lumad evacuees encamped at the Misamis Oriental capitol grounds were harassed Wednesday night by men who introduced themselves as Cagayan de Oro City information officers, playing loud music and showing films produced by the military. In alerts posted online by supporters, two men were seen operating a movie screen while loud music was blasting against […]
‘Try living on a P10,000 month budget’ – progressive lawmakers
Various labor groups and individuals have denounced as “misleading and unrealistic” the statement of a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official that the living standard for a Filipino family of five is P10,000 a month.
TRAIN worsens burden of inflation on poor – IBON
Almost 18 million Filipino families are already hard-pressed to survive on incomes below the family living wage of Php30,000 per month estimated by IBON
Research group IBON said that higher prices as reflected in the accelerating May 2018 inflation bears heavily on the poor, and that the recently passed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law is a significant reason for rising prices. TRAIN imposed new or higher excise taxes on oil and other products, the group said.
Prices went up generally by 4.6% last month compared with the same period last year. The latest inflation rate is 1.7 percentage points more than the 2.9% rate in May 2017. According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the top three items driving high inflation were fish and seafood (0.65 percentage points), fuel and lubricants for personal transport equipment (0.60 percentage points), and bread and cereals (0.56 percentage points).
Inflation has shot up to a five-year high since the enactment of TRAIN. The law aggravates the inflationary impact of more expensive global oil and the peso depreciation on a wide range of basic goods. According to IBON, it has been clear since last year that these would accelerate inflation.
Oil price hikes in particular impact on the prices of other commodities because it is widely used in producing and transporting food and other basic goods. Fish and other seafood for instance directly bear the impact of more expensive fuel. A recent case study by fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA showed that fisherfolk now pay Php66.75 more for the five liters of diesel they use on every fishing trip – or an additional Php1,335 per month for 20 days of fishing.
The administration’s insistence on TRAIN only shows its insensitivity to consumers and the working people in its drive for higher revenues, said IBON. As it is, almost 18 million Filipino families are already hard-pressed to survive on incomes below the family living wage of Php30,000 per month estimated by IBON.
IBON also warned that further price increases are certain in the coming years. TRAIN raises excise taxes on the whole range of oil products again in 2019 and 2020. This includes the socially sensitive items of diesel, kerosene and LPG.
TRAIN’s taxes raise oil prices permanently and greatly burdens low income families, IBON stressed. Administration economic managers have long known about this and so provided for small cash transfers to the poorest households. These are temporary though and will be lifted after 2020 when the prices of basic goods and services will have already increased substantially. The public interest demands reconsideration of the repressive TRAIN tax law, IBON said. ###
Lumad group seeks protection of fugitive IP chieftain
Pasaka Lumad confederation slammed the harassment of the 56th Infantry Battalion and paramilitary group ALAMARA to Lumad leader and chieftain of Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon, Datu Guibang Apoga.
LUMAD SCHOOL
The opening of classes at a Lumad makeshift school inside the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Haran compound in Davao City push through despite the lack of proper classroom, chairs and teaching materials. (More…) (Kath M. Cortez/davaotoday.com)
Netizens slam NEDA’s ‘fake computation’ of decent family income by posting household budgets online
After the #CrybabySelfie challenge, militant labor group KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno) Metro Manila launched another social media campaign to denounce the NEDA’s (National Economic Development Authority) statement stating that a family of five can live decently with just a monthly income of P10,000 despite the impacts of President Duterte’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and the rising cost of basic commodities and services.
Dubbed as the #MagkanoBuhayMo challenge, KMU Metro Manila enjoins netizens to post their monthly household budget to counter NEDA’s claim.
On Kilusang Mayo Uno Metro Manila Facebook post, they challenge netizens to post their monthly budget and identify how many members there are in the family. Upon posting, the group instructs the public to tag their friends to do the challenge and use the hashtag: #MagkanoBuhayMo.
The group questioned how much community participation was involved in the study to come up with the P10,000 computation. “More than NEDA and President Duterte, it is the poor Filipino workers and their families who know the real and concrete situation of Filipino households and the cost they need in order for them to survive and cope with the effects of TRAIN Law, low wages and high prices,” said KMU Metro Manila chairperson Ed Cubelo.
“NEDA must be true to its mandate to develop our national economy and not be a mouthpiece of lies and a mind-conditioning measure of the Duterte government,” Cubelo added.
The #MagkanoBuhayMo challenge also aims to reiterate the group’s demands for higher wages and the scrapping of the TRAIN Law and other ‘anti-poor’ policies of the Duterte administration.
Cubelo said that a series of online and offline protests are set to be held in the days to come, including ‘Black Friday Protests’ in Meralco offices on June 8 in time for the 17th anniversary of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and as a power rate hike looms this month.
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85th IBPA suffers casualties in Lopez ambush–NPA
The New People’s Army (NPA) in Quezon said it ambushed troopers of the Philippine Army’s 85th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Cogorin Ibaba, Lopez, Quezon Monday night. The NPA’s Apolonio Mendoza Command (NPA-AMC) said it ambushed 10 government soldiers on board a truck as well as their reinforcements in two separate fire fights. While not giving […]