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Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Espinoza: Advancing workers’ interests
By Fred C. Espinoza
Security. Both the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines went on full alert from a heightened security level at noon of Sunday as tens of thousands of workers and militant groups from various regions took to the streets to celebrate Labor Day and press for the ouster of President Arroyo, since allegations that she cheated her way to the presidency surfaced last year.
Nevertheless, I am confident that most of our countrymen are all for a peaceful and orderly celebration of Labor Day, which should remind us, especially those in this generation, about the struggle of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, specifically its demand for an eight-hour workday on May 1, 1886.
As Armando Doronila pointed out in his analysis, “the working class should be marching today to push for a fairer share of the nation’s wealth, but if they don’t look out, non-working class militants will push them out of their day in the streets and hijack Labor Day to serve political interests that have little to do with advancing workers’ interests.”
Whether we like it or not, we still have to shake off the trauma of people power revolts since the collapse of the Marcos regime following the popular uprising at Edsa about 20 years ago.
FRUIT GROWERS. On the other hand, we would like to commend the Mindanao fruit growers and processors, who would rather not worry about the prevailing political climate by heeding to the importers’ call for more Philippine fruits.
Reports circulating in Davao City said Mindanao growers and processors are “expanding operations of a more robust export market, as global demand for fresh Philippine carabao mango grows.”
The report also showed that mango processors are either creating or expanding operations on the island, including Profood International Corp., a Cebu-based processed mango exporter, which operates a multi-line plant in Davao City; the Consunji-owned Sirawan Foods, which runs a medium-sized processing facility in Davao; Motherland Food Products; and Amley Food Corp. in Cagayan de Oro City.
The report also cited that Metro Manila-based major fresh mango exporters “are also expanding their sourcing and consolidation operations in Mindanao.” These include Diamond Star, Marsman-Pelican, DHM and Hi-Las, which maintain buying stations and agent representative offices in Davao, General Santos and Cagayan de Oro City.
Another significant aspect of the expansion scheme that may seem to have bolstered the moral of the development players in the industry is the fact that the mango growers are preparing themselves to comply with “stricter food safety requirements imposed recently by foreign countries, particularly Japan, according to Benjamin Roy, Mindanao Fruit Industry (Mindfruit) Council executive director.
Established in 1999 to improve the region’s tropical fruit industry, the Mindfruit Council is a business support organization assisted by the US Agency for International Development-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao Program, which is being implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Economic Development Council.
These heartening events in the countryside should remind us once more that our last recourse would be to put our acts together to keep our country united both in economic terms, as well as its social commitments to the poor and disadvantaged sector of society.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 2, 2006 issue)
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