What is happening now at the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), the construction of Terminal 3 in particular, is a clear example of the detrimental effects of the privatization program of the government where ownership andmanagement of public services utilities would be transferred to private entities and/or foreign firms.

The Philippine International Air Terminals Corporation (PIATCO), the private firm that will construct and manage Terminal 3, is wholly owned by Fraport AG (Operator of Frankfurt airport in Germany), Security Bank and Trust Co., Equitable Banking Corporation, Chuah Hup Holdings Co., and Philippine Airport Ground services (PAGS)–owned by a group of Filipino-Chinese businessmen who have succeeded in cornering a number of lucrative contracts at the NAIA complex ranging from cargo handling, aircraft maintenance to passenger service.

To privatize NAIA, the government has circumvented and rendered inutile the Philippine constitution, fostered graft and corruption, and will force 10,000 NAIA workers out of their jobs. As in the case of other lopsided and onerous contracts that the government had entered into with private entities, (Lopezes and Ayalas for water service and numerous foreign owned Independent Power Producers for electric service), the government would stand to loose more than P1 billion annually as a result of the PIATCO Concession Agreement (PCA) for 25 years.

With majority of the PIATCO shares owned by Fraport and other entities with Chinese origin, the government had virtually violated the Philippine constitution of 60-40% Filipino-foreign equity ownership. As onerous as it could be, the PIATCO, this early, is already violating the contract when it begun constructing a cargo terminal at the NAIA 3 instead of the stipulated 2.7-km access road to NAIA 2 which, has already an existing cargo terminal. Obviously, PIATCO wants to monopolize and corner the income of the airport, which earned P4.685 billion last year.

As in other sweet deal contracts with private entities corruption would always be a significant part in the processing and facilitation of the transaction. For one, PIATCO entered into a $2.3 million consultancy contract to a certain Mr. Leongson which PIATCO could not defend during a recent Senate hearing on the issue. Thus, it would not be suprising if the project cost ballooned from $350 million in 1997 to US$500 million as of today owing to the reported overcharging and cost-over runs.

However, the most ravaging effects would be on the 10,000 workers now working at the NAIA Terminals 1 and 2. Section 3.02(b) of the PCA stipulates that PIATCO’s terminal 3 shall “exclusively operate” the passenger terminal thus, affecting passenger services of Terminals 1 and 2 leading to the grave displacement of its workers. Worse, Section 3.01(e) of the agreement stipulates the “no carry over clause” which, simply means that PIATCO would not recognize, among others, the existing employees contracts of the NAIA 1 and 2, thus, automatically making the employees jobless once PIATCO begins operations come November 2002.

The PIATCO controversy is a clear manifestation of the bankruptcy and inutility of the privatization program of the government. It did not learn its lesson on the problems brought about by the privatization of water facilities and power industry. It is quite ironic that even if NAIA is a lucrative service enterprise the government would still want to privatize it, ostensibly to relinquish its responsibility and mandate to serve and protect the interest of the people. The government would not mind if it would loose billions of pesos in revenues and witness 10,000 workers die of extreme hunger with their families as long as big foreign and private capitalists are pleased and contented with a very caring and all embracing Philippine government.

The labor groups call on the Arroyo government to rescind the contract and abandon its privatization thrust on one of the most profitable public service facility and secure workers jobs instead of displacing them.

SAMAHANG MANGGAGAWA SA PALIPARAN NG PILIPINAS · CONFEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT UNIONS in the public sector · Alliance of Progressive Labor

Two women workers from the Industrial Group Philippines Inc. (IGPI), a small factory in Meycauayan, Bulacan, have petitioned SSS in 1997 to investigate an anomaly in its system of granting benefits when fictitious maternity benefit claims using the petitioners’ names in late 1996 were approved and released without them filing for such claims. However, further inquiry later revealed that more women employees have found to have claimed their maternal benefits without these persons giving birth and getting married or are married but have been already ligated. They constantly followed it up but no action was taken by the SSS. Unfortunately, the incident happened again in 2001 when five (5) workers did not file such claims but were found on SSS records to have already claimed their maternity benefits. Again, further inquiries revealed that more employees were victimized by said nefarious activities.

These incidents are but a mere speck of dust of the countless anomalies that would not have happened without the knowledge of SSS personnel and even SSS top officials.

As we all know, corruption engulfs the social security system. For its top officials, certainly the stakes are much higher. Case in point, the former President of the Republic and top executives of SSS have unabashedly carried out more blatant display of mischief and flimsy investments that eventually led to huge losses of SSS funds to the detriment of its 23-million members.

Funds amounting to 34.5 billions of pesos were divested in just 31 months during the Estrada presidency. The government lost P6.4 billion in PLDT, P1.4 billion in Union Bank, P2.8 billion in Meralco and P12 billion in PCI-Equitable transactions. This does not include the P150 million losses it endured when it was prodded by Estrada to invest P745million in Belle Corp. where Estrada received P189 million as commission in exchange for the investment. Apart from this, it is a well known fact that top SSS executives receive salaries of not less than 350,000 pesos a month thus increasing SSS operating costs to a whopping 4.2 billion pesos in 2000, nearly double from 1997’s 2.3 billion pesos putting a tenth of the members contribution to the executive’s salaries alone. Apparently, SSS executives receive fantastic and galactic salaries only to mismanage and let powerful individuals in the society to loot the people’s money.

Now, Gloria Arroyo, in an apparent attempt to recover billions of pesos in losses due to the unabated corruption and investment of SSS funds to questionable transactions, has opted to bleed the workers further by increasing premium payments by 6% to 22%. Instead of going after the crooks in the SSS and restructure its system to ensure rightful delivery of service and prudent handling of its funds, Arroyo will further squeeze the workers of their meager pay without any increase in workers benefits.

The Alliance of Progressive Labor calls on the government not to inflict more miseries to the already impoverished Filipino people by deciding against their interest only to maintain a system infested by a few who have no other business but to exploit the workers. The system should be overhauled and should have transparency in all of its undertakings. After all, what they are using is the people’s money.

GIVE JUSTICE TO THE FILIPINO WORKERS!

It has been weeks now since the whole world witnessed on how the Malaysian authorities mercilessly deported Filipino workers and up to now horrible stories of how infants die of famine and dehydration and women raped helplessly by Malaysian police continue to make the headlines. However, despite of the grueling experience, the Filipino deportees would still want to comeback because of the simple reason that there is less hope living in the Philippines.

With the intensity of human rights violations committed against the Filipino workers in Malaysia it would be logical to say that more horrendous human rights violations are being committed against them here in our own country. They have lost faith in the government that have kept on making promises for economic prosperity only to find out that it would be meant only for the few elites in our society. The migration of Filipinos including our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao since the time of Marcos up to the present only attests to the fact that the government has failed miserably in ensuring economic development and bringing better lives for the Filipino people.

Now, almost every year, we are witness to the maltreatment of hundreds of our fellow Filipinos making a living in other countries, some of which have never realize their dreams for their families. Eventually, they would come home in closed boxes or caskets. Now we could only watch in dismay as Filipinos are hounded like pigs in the Malaysian peninsula and die on their way back home.

The response of the Arroyo government to the issue is as inutile as its employment program that she kept on bragging would create 1 million jobs for the Filipinos. And as a clear insult to our senses, it sent people to Malaysia to investigate if in deed the Malaysian police committed human rights violation against the Filipino deportees though it is very clear to all of us that hundreds of children have already died and Malaysian authorities have ruthlessly raped Filipino women.

This is the sorry state of the Filipino workers here and abroad. This reality only manifests on how the Philippine government treat the Filipino workers. They don’t care as much as the other countries would do including the Malaysian government since they see the workers without jobs as problems and not part of the solution to the problem. Most of all, these clearly manifest on how bankrupt is the economic program of the national government. The economy is geared only to suit the interests of the few elite and foreign capitalists that exploit our vast resources at the expense of the people.

The Alliance of Progressive Labor calls on the Arroyo government to ask the Malaysian government to stop the inhuman treatment of Filipinos. Justice should be given to the Filipino deportees and that they should be provided decent jobs here in the country. The Arroyo government should have a clear economic agenda that would improve the lives of the people particularly in Mindanao where our Muslim brothers and sisters have been longing for social, economic and political equality since time immemorial. JTM