The Guilds, Balanga (2026)

04/06/2026

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐍’𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃
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Comics by Shantel Sayra Miguel

10/05/2026

[𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘]

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞,
𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐰, 𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐰𝐨.

Once there was a woman who boiled water loud enough
to drown the landlord knocking.

One who spoke softly
to cracked plates in the sink
as if broken things
deserved tenderness.

Some mornings,
another woman would move through the kitchen
with a cigarette voice—
asking humbly without looking back
if we are already hungry.

Other days in front of the television,
there was a woman laughing too brightly
as if sunrise came near us,
slowly painting our faces with gold.

Near the laundry room,
One counted coins
while her tired hands wear detergent water—
until the skin forgets
the texture of everything it touches.

At nine years old,
I believed our home was crowded with women.

Women with the same faces.

Women who wore each other’s voices
like borrowed clothing in one closet.

It was years before I understand
why none of them stayed long,

why every room introduced me to someone new.

Hunger does that to a mother.

There were five of us in that house,

but the strangest thing about hunger
is how it multiplies a mother.

She kept dividing herself quietly,
like bread at the table—
her every sacrifice leaves
behind a smaller woman.

And there,
I finally understood:
there was never another woman
inside my mother.

Only the same woman
abandoning herself repeatedly
so the rest of us could remain whole.

Now the house is quieter.

The plates no longer apologize to themselves.
The television sleeps early at night.

But sometimes, near midnight,
I hear the sink running,
and for one terrible second,

I still believe—

my mother is in the kitchen
becoming someone else
for us
again.

___

Poem by John Carl Marquez
Artwork by Harold Basa
Design by Rogel Jean Gerald Vitangcol

10/05/2026

[𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐂𝐎𝐌]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐎𝐒 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

A child can have parents – and still grow up without a childhood.

Not because they were never loved, but because love, on its own, was not enough to keep things steady. There are homes where care is interrupted by hardship, where growing up becomes less about being nurtured and more about learning how to endure. In these spaces, children do not always lose their families – they lose the feeling of being raised.

But it is in these unfinished spaces that motherhood begins again, often in the form of care that far surpasses biology.

Amor Mia Desoy, 35, has been a mother at SOS Children's Village Philippines in Mariveles for 14 years. She represents a community of women trained and committed to raising children who have been separated from consistent parental care - not to replace their families, but to rebuild, within four walls, the feeling of having one.

“Parang ko rin sila tinuturing na totoong mga anak. Hindi lang house parent ka, tinatrato mo din sila na mga anak mo, hindi sila iba sayo.”, said Desoy.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), approximately 5 million to 7 million of Filipino children remain under alternative care arrangements each year due to neglect, abandonment, poverty, or family incapacity to provide stable support.

Behind these numbers are children who are not entirely without families but are temporarily or permanently separated from the kind of consistent care that allows childhood to fully unfold.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), one of the root causes of disrupted childcare in many Filipino households is persistent poverty, where roughly 3 million families continue to live below the poverty threshold, limiting their capacity to provide consistent emotional, educational, and developmental support for their children.

In addition, labor migration continues to separate Filipino parents from their children for long periods. According to PSA, overseas employment remains a major driver of family separation in the Philippines, often leaving the caregiving responsibilities to their extended family members or other guardians.

As a result, many children grow up without consistent parental presence, often living the crucial years of their development with fragmented care and limited emotional guidance.

This is the gap that SOS Children’s Village seeks to fill.

𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐲

Unlike traditional caregiving systems that aim for temporary shelter alone, SOS provides a long-term structure where children are placed in homes guided by SOS mothers – women trained and committed to raising children in a stable, consistent environment.

Each child enters through a careful referral process involving local government units and social workers, ensuring that placement is not arbitrary but a last option when there are no more capable relatives or immediate alternatives such as foster care or adoption.

In one household alone, an SOS mother may care for six to eight children of varying ages, guiding them through school, adolescence, and eventually early adulthood, all while balancing discipline, emotional support, and everyday routines that define what a home should feel like.

What the numbers cannot capture is what the work actually feels like from the inside. For Desoy, motherhood at SOS is not a performance of care - it is care itself.

Desoy speaks about discipline with the candor of someone who has simply seen everything. She does not raise her hand - physical punishment is strictly prohibited within the program. Instead, she has learned the grammar of reverse psychology, of letting a teenager talk until they reveal themselves.

"Malaya kayo makipagbarkada kahit kanino. Basta isa lang, kung ano yung ugali ng barkada mo na sa tingin mo hindi nakakabuti sayo, 'wag mong gayahin”, said Desoy.

Education remains at the core of the program, as every child is required and supported to attend school, whether in academic or technical tracks, ensuring that they are equipped not only with knowledge but with the means to build independent lives in the future.

“Definitely, lahat papasok dapat. Lahat papaaralin. Pero habang nandito yan, kung ano dapat yung age niya, nag-aaral yan”, said the SOS Village Director.

She does not pretend the work is easy. There are children who test every limit, teenagers who come home smelling of curiosity and bad decisions. But Desoy has learned that the most important thing she can do - more than correcting, more than lecturing - is to keep listening. To stay in the room. To be the person they know will not leave.

“[Tiisin mo] lang talaga dito, ‘pag hindi mo labanan, habaan mo ang pasensya mo. ‘Yun lang kailangan dito,” she stated.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠

The children are not meant to stay in the village forever, because the goal is to return them to their families once stability is restored.

However, for those without families to return to, the support does not end at childhood, as SOS provides youth programs and independent living arrangements that guide them through college, employment, and eventual self-sufficiency.

Yet, behind every success story are quiet struggles. According to the village director, sustaining operations requires hundreds of millions each year for housing, education, healthcare, and staffing.

“Sa panahon din ngayon, hindi lang basta madali makapaghanap ng mga caregiver, kasi marami na ring opportunities e. Sa dami ng options, parang may challenge makapag-hire ng talagang nagla-last”, he added.

Even so, those who stay often do so for reasons that cannot be measured in salaries or statistics, but in the small moments that slowly build a sense of family for children where there once was none.

‘Mommy, salamat dahil kahit hindi ikaw yung totoo naming magulang pero andyan ka pa rin sa amin, nag-aalaga, nagtatiyaga sa amin…’, Desoy reminisced from a letter a child once wrote to her.

…

There are children in SOS who will one day leave and call another place home again. But there are also memories they carry forward – of women who stayed, who corrected patiently, who celebrated small victories, who listened when no one else did.

And in that memory, motherhood does not end where biology stops. It continues where care once filled the silence.

___

Words by Angel Leano
Design by John Michael Pascubillo
Photos from SOS Villages Philippines

10/05/2026

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.

Before we learned to speak, they understood us. Before we knew to ask, they had already given. Motherhood is, at its core, the oldest and most enduring form of devotion.

Across homes, shelters, orphanages, and communities built on compassion, countless mothers continue to nurture lives with patience and tenderness despite carrying burdens of their own. Some became mothers through birth, while others became mothers through presence.

On this special day, the celebration of Mother’s Day serves not only as a tribute to those who gave birth, but also to every person who chose to love beyond obligation - the fathers who mothered, the siblings who raised, the strangers who stayed. May this occasion remind us that motherhood is not measured solely by blood or by gender, but by the love that restores hope, heals pain, and makes a person feel at home in a world that can often feel unkind.

So here is to them - whoever they are, wherever they are, in whatever form they take in your life. For the lunches packed and the fears soothed. For the quiet sacrifices that were never announced. For staying, and for showing up, and for loving in the way only they knew how.

___

Words by Angel Leaño
Artwork and Design by Charisse Faye Clavo

03/05/2026

[𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐂𝐎𝐌]

𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐀𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐠𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐚 𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚

Alas dos pa lang ng madaling araw ay ginagayak na ni Mang Edwin, 36 na taong gulang, ang sarili upang lumaot. Mahaba-habang oras niya titiisin ang tirik ng araw kaya sinisiguro na lahat ng kinakailangan niya sa pamamalakaya ay dala-dala niya dahil tanghali pa ito makakabalik ng pangpang.

Doble kasi ang itatagal ni Mang Edwin sa dagat ngayon upang mabawi sana ang dumoble ring gastos niya sa taas ng presyo ng gasolina ngayon.

𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭

Pebrero 28 ngayong taong noong unang nagsimula ng gera ang US-Israel sa Iran, ito’y matapos magpadala ng isang joint airstrike ang dalawang bansa sa Iran dahilan upang hindi umano ay mamatay ang kanilang Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Gumanti naman ang Iran at nagpadala rin ng mga misayl sa US at halos kasabay nito ay pagharang ng anumang importasyon na tatawid sa Strait of Hormuz, ang 29-nautical-mile-wide na channel na itinuturing na pinaka-kritikal na energy “chokepoint” sa buong mundo.

Ayon sa datos, mahigit 20 milyong barrel ng langis ang itinatawid sa strait araw-araw. At sa naturang pagharang na ito, nagkaroon ng global supply shock na siyang naging dahilan ng agad-agarang pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina sa Pilipinas.

Bilang naka-depende pa ang bansa sa malawakang paggamit ng langis ay malaki ang pasakit nito hindi lang para sa mga nasa kalsada kung hindi para na rin sa buong mamamayan ng Pilipinas. Sa katunayan, 98% ng ating langis na ginagamit ay iniimport pa mula sa Middle East.

Batay sa Philippine Market Statics, mula 2020 hanggang 2026, ang presyo ng gasolina ay pumalo na mula ₱47.45/L at hindi bababa sa ₱87.50 para sa mga premium variant. Ang diesel naman ay umabot na sa minimum na ₱104.10/L, na labis na nagpahirap sa sektor ng transportasyon na inaasahan ng karamihan sa mga Pilipino.

Ngunit, sa kabi-kabilang usapin para sa mga tsuper ng mga PUVs ay tila naiwan ang sektor ng mga mangingisda sa usapin na isa rin sa mga pangunahing gumagamit ng gasolina sa tuwing sila ay papalaot.

𝐋𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚

Kinalimutan. Ganyan ilarawan ni Mang Edwin ang sitwasyon ngayon ng mga mangingisdang katulad niya sa Sitio Depensa.

Magkaiba man ang gasolinang ginagamit ng mga tsuper at mga mangingisda ay ramdam pa rin ng sektor na ito ang hampas ng alon ng nagtataasang presyo ng gasolina. Sa ngayon kahit na halos Unleaded na ang ginagamit ng mga mangingisda sa Depensa ay mabigat pa rin ito sa kanilang bulsa lalo pa’t umaabot na ng halos 97 pesos ito kada litro.

Kung noon ang 400 pesos na gasolina ay sapat na para sa dalawang ikot ng laot niya ngunit ngayon sa dumoble niyang gastos na 800 pesos ay sumasakto lang ito sa iisang laot.

“Dati, may dalawang pagkakataon ako para makahuli. Pero ngayon, bibili kang 800, isang beses mo lang siyang gagamitin at hindi mo pasigurado kung mababawi mo ’yung ginastos mo o hindi,” saad ni Mang Edwin.

Sa data-rating pamamalakaya niya ay may nauuwing pa siya 1300 pesos para sa kanyang pamilya pero ngayon ay halos umaabot na lang sa 900 pesos ang kanyang naipupundar. Dagdag mo pa na kasabay ng pagtaasan din na gasolina ay ang siyang pagtaas rin ng mga bilihin sa bansa.

“Nawala na ‘yung dapat budget mo para sa pambayad mo sa kuryente at pambili ng ulam e, lalo pa ngayon na magpapasukan na ulit. Saan ulit kami kukuha ng pera?,” daing ni Mang Edwin.

Sa kadahilanang ito, marami sa mga kapwa niya mangingisda ang pinili na munang itigil ang kanilang paglalaot. Para sa kanila, mas mabuti na muna ang maghanap ng trabaho kaysa i-sugal ang araw-araw na kita at maubos ang pasensya sa kakahintay na tulong sa gobyerno.

Nitong Abril lamang, mahigit limang libong mangingisda sa bansa ang walang magawa kung hindi tumigil na lamang pumalaot dahil sa pagtaas ng petrolyo kasabay ng bilihin sa bansa, ayon sa ulat ng Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Mangingisda-Pilipinas.

Bulung-bulungan man sa mga mandaragat ang sinasabing makukuhang subsidiya, hanggang ngayon ay walang natatanggap sina Mang Edwin at kaniyang mga kasama.

“Yung mga mangingisda, kahit may naririnig ka [na makukuhang subsidiya], magpasahanggang ngayon, wala pa rin kaming natatanggap. Kumbaga dati naghihirap ka na at halos mamatay ka na, ngayon talagang pinatay ka na.” giit ni Mang Edwin

𝐁ú𝐡𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐠𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐚

Ramdam ang bigat sa bawat bigkas ni Mang Edwin sa mga salitang “hindi natin alam kung hanggang kailan tayo tatagal,” ngayong ang kabuhayang malaking parte ng buhay niya ay patuloy na nilulunod ng sistema.

Ngunit hindi rito matatapos ang laban para sa kaniya, hindi kailanman dapat maging solusyon ang pagtigil sa pangisda dahil sa patuloy na pagpalya ng sistema.

“Hindi natin alam kung kailan pa ulit mababago yung sistema na kailan pa ulit nila maririnig yung boses natin kaya palagi kami sumisigaw sa kalsada. Pakinggan niyo naman ‘yung sektor na isa sa may pinakamalaking papel na ginagampanan sa lipunan,” ani Mang Edwin

Hinaing nina Mang Edwin, gumawa ang gobyerno ng polisiya para sa suporta sa mga mangingisda, itigil ang mga proyektong nakasisira sa kalikasan at karagatan, ipagtibay ang rehabilitasyon sa mga lugar pangisdaan, at paigtingin ang mga batas para sa mangingisda.

Para sa mga mangingisda, hindi sila pagagapi sa sistema at patuloy silang lulusong sa karagatan dahil malaking parte na ito ng kanilang buhay. Higit sa lahat, hindi kailanman maipagpapalit ng kahit anuman ang pag-asang ibinibigay sa kanila ng katubigan.

***

Sa muling paglaot ni Mang Edwin, hindi na lang lambat ang kaniyang dala. Pasan na rin niya ang bigat ng sistemang nakakalimot na ang pagkaing nasa hapag ng bawat Pilipino ay galing sa mga kamay na unti-unting nilulunod ng krisis at mahal ng petrolyo.

Ngunit, hangga’t may alon, may pag-asa. Hangga’t may dagat, may boses na sisigaw mula sa pampang hanggang sa gitna ng kawalan: na ang mga tagapagpakain ng bansa ay hindi kailanman dapat hayaang magutom, malunod, at mamatay sa sarili nilang karagatan.

___

Isinulat nina Louwell Josh Teodoro at Ejay Liloc Palomata
Larawang kuha ni Drenzoe Torres
Idinisenyo ni Rogel Jean Gerald Vitangcol

02/05/2026

Apatnapu't walong taon na rin ang lumipas nang huling masilayan ng mga taga Salian ang orihinal na imahe ni Apo Antin.

Sa pagbabalik ng kaniyang imahen, ang mga deboto ng Salian sa Abucay ay nanumbalik ang saya nang ipagdiwang ang kapistahan ng santo.

Ano nga ba ang kwento sa likod ng kanilang pananampalataya at ang mistulang pagkawala ng santo?

Alamin ang istorya, kultura, at walang kupas na debosyon ng mga taga Salian kay San Pedro Martyr de Verona sa dokumentaryong ito.

02/05/2026

𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐄’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐚𝐧

With the declining unemployment rates since February, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – Bataan held their annual Job Fair at Bataan People Center, aiming to contribute in helping local job seekers and lessening the unemployment rate status in the province.

According to a press release from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), market conditions have improved in contrast to previous months, as the unemployment rate has declined to 5.1% as of February 2026.

Chief Labor and Employment Officer of DOLE–Bataan Maylene Evangelista, emphasized the importance of this fair to the current workforce of Bataan.

"At least mababawasan ang unemployment natin once na na-hire sila, at the same time yung mga companies na nangangailangan, makakapili sila ng gusto talaga nilang workers,” Evangelista said.

She also stated that the event is a perfect opportunity for newly graduated students looking for their first job, and that DOLE is fully supportive of employers and employees alike.

Noreen Joy Zulueta, a first-year college student and first-time job seeker, described her experience and the importance of this event for students like her.

“In fairness naman din po sa job fair na ginanap, sobrang dami po ng positions na hinahanap ng bawat company, and dahil maraming hinahanap na position per company, marami rin po ang mahi-hire and marami pong mabibigyan ng trabaho, mababawasan ‘yung unemployment rate sa Bataan and ma-uutilize po ng mga Bataeños yung skills nila,” Zulueta shared.

This year’s job fair themed, "Disenteng trabaho para sa lahat: Iisang to hangarin, bagong Pilipinas sama samang mararating", was led by various local, international corporations and companies joined the initiative such as Cocentrix, De Guzman Group, Yoonet, PHIRST, Yokowo, and others promoting fair and reliable job opportunities for Bataeños.

Report by Fitzpatrick Laurence Martinez

02/05/2026

Taong 1978 nang nawala ang imahe ni Saint Peter of Verona o Apo Antin ng Brgy. Salian, Abucay, Bataan. Sa kabila ng pagkalumbay sa imahe ng kanilang simbahan, ang mga deboto, hindi nawalan ng pag-asa na isang araw uuwi rin si Apo Antin.

At sa halos limang dekadang paghahanap at pagkalumbay, tila milagrong muling magbabalik ang minamahal nilang patron sa barrio ng Salian.

Abangan ang dokumentaryo ng The Guilds, ‘Uuwi na si Apo,’ ngayong Sabado, mamayang 7:00 PM.

01/05/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦

Figuring out the society’s harsh situations through expressing sentiments over unfair practices and calling out unjust political issues is more impactful if everyone works up and not just the laborers, especially in a holiday shed for them.

Many let go of effort, strength, and time to afford living and pay taxes only to land at the hands of filthy officials—considered public servants, but living a million-peso worth of lifestyle away from the situation of the general people.

Plunging into debts and even seeking the best opportunity thousands of miles away from home is not worth a break even while there are some who spend the best times of their lives and earn salaries without making any presence.

Apart from a Philippine Constitution principle that says “public office is a public trust,” mass protests, rallies, and public forums may only be a few options to restore a little more hope to the underprivileged—victims of the harsh system often seen as a threat.

The Guilds stand as one with the crowd to commemorate this Labor Day along with a steadfast commitment to fight for the workers’ right towards a more sustainable work environment and equitable employment for the marginalized.

___

Words by Dominic De Jesus
Design by Rogel Jean Gerald Vitangcol
Photo by John Michael Pascubillo

01/05/2026

𝐍𝐖𝐏𝐂 𝐬𝐧𝐮𝐛 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬, 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐳𝐨𝐧

Progressive groups and several people’s organizations across Central Luzon call out the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) Executive Director Maria Criselda Sy’s statement on a recent congress hearing, that there are no notable reasons to increase the minimum wage for workers, during Labor Day mobilization in Angeles City, Pampanga, May 1.

“Base po sa analysis namin ng socio-economic indicators na ni-release ng PSA, wala pa po [urgent and reasonable ground for wage increase],” said Sy.

With this, members of Workers for People’s Liberation (WPL) and Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, together with other groups, held a protest to amplify their opposition to NWPC’s statement and to call for enhanced labour and workers’ rights.

“Hindi pa ba kayo galit? Lantaran ang hirap na dinaranas ng mga manggagawa, patuloy ang panawagan na hindi sapat ang minimum wage, at kitang-kita ang kakulangan sa sahod ng kabuhayan, tapos wala raw dahilan para itaas ang sahod? Hindi ito makatarungan, bingi ang gobyerno sa ating panawagan,” said the rallyist.

This call is also driven by the existing issue in the national inflation rate, which, from 2.8%, has now increased to 3.0%, and is heavily observed in oil and gas prices, while the provincial minimum wage remains steady.

It can be remembered that, under Wage Order No. RBIII-26, a total increase of ₱50 to ₱80 will be given to minimum wage earners through two tranches. The first was implemented last October 2025 while the second tranche was last April 16.

As of writing, Central Luzon has a minimum wage of ₱600 for non-agriculture while ₱540 and ₱560 for agriculture and retail sectors.

"Parang walang planong itaas, o hindi naipapatupad ang sahod ng mga manggagawa. Sila rin ang nahihirapan. Kung walang manggagawa, anong produksyon ang magagawa sa Pilipinas?" said by an advocate from Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan (KAISA-KA).

Further, aside from a wage increase, protesters also specified actions for proper regulation of value-added tax, sustained support to the agricultural sector, termination of the oil deregulation law, and accountability among corrupt government officials.

They also emphasized the role of the United States in aggravating communal struggles as they perceive the Philippines as a neocolonial victim of the US government.

Meanwhile, the protesters held their program in the vicinity of Angeles City Public Market, then marched to in front of St. Rosario Church to end their call.

Report by Angel Leaño, Enrique Angelo Cortez, and Kurbin Bunsua
Photos by Psalm Tolentino

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