Farmers and trade union groups would like President Bongbong Marcos’ “bold reset” to prioritize direct and regular engagement with farmers, fishers, workers and their organizations by creating “Basic Sectors Advisory Council” (BSAC).
In a statement, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) and the National Trade Union Center of the Philippines (NTUC PHL) said that if the President meets periodically with the country’s corporate elite through the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), which is chaired by billionaire businessman Sabin M. Aboitiz, the more that he should regularly meet with the basic sectors as well.
“Knowing that the basic sectors have direct access to the President will keep the heads of Departments and other key agencies ‘on their toes’ in addressing major concerns of the working class,” said FFF Chairman and NTUC PHL Vice-President Leonardo Q. Montemayor.
“Having a Basic Sectors Advisory Council or BSAC will inform the President on the perspective of ordinary Filipinos and help him craft a more balanced approach to policy making and program execution. It will also temper the general perception that the President’s economic team is primarily pro-big business and pro-foreign investor,” Montemayor pointed out.
Regarding the ongoing Cabinet revamp, he emphasized the urgent need for an immediate assessment of the performance of frontline agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
“While the Secretaries of these Departments have been generally approachable, much remains to be done by them. For instance, the DOLE should be pushing harder for a ‘living wage’. The DA must exert greater efforts to ensuring fair prices for farmers’ produce. The DAR should act decisively on longstanding agrarian disputes, many of which have caused death or injury to farmer-victims,” Montemayor said.
He cited, among others, critical agrarian cases involving the physical harassment, dislocation and even murders of agrarian reform beneficiaries in Alacaak, Sta. Cruz, Occidental Mindoro; Amai Manabilang, Lanao del Sur; and Guinobatan, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro.
