protest « Victor Villanueva

Posts tagged with protest

June 28, 2009

The Democratization Movement in Retrospect

The following article appears in the latest issue of Oblation, the newsletter of the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC). The last issue was the last of our term, 2008, and serves as a joint/transition issue with USC 2009.

The University of the Philippines bore witness to our militant history of collective struggle. It has been a testament to the tide and ebb of our national affairs which have propelled thousands of students to forge an inextricable link with various sectors in our society in our clamor for a common aspiration””genuine social change.

At the dawn of the decade 60′s, the country was swept by the massive waves of rage and discontent among the youth, laborers and peasants and other sectors of the society weary of the existing social order favoring foreign interests and the ruling class. It was further aggravated by the government’s incapacity to ease the worsening crisis, tolerance for corruption and the use of fascism to quell the progressive mass movement.

At the height of political repression, the students of the University took both issues of national and local significance to the streets: from tuition fee increases, campus repression and the fight for academic freedom to US imperialism and its war of aggression in Vietnam, oil price hikes, land reform and decent wages for the workers.

Youth organizations that were founded in the University along with University professors propelled the progressive movement in the campus as they packaged militant ideas in fora, convocations, cultural performances, educational and classroom discussions and teach-ins.

As a reaction to the government’s inaction involving the release of its 9-millon budget, the Council of Leaders which includes traditional organizations, fraternities and sororities and progressive organizations such as the Kabataang Makabayan, Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines and the University Student Council led the picket protest.

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June 21, 2009

Youth Action Day & the 148th anniversary of Jose Rizal’s birth

Kabataan Party-list commemorated last June 19, 2009 the 148th birth anniversary of national hero Jose Rizal and its founding anniversary with a Youth Action Day against the convening of a constituent assembly and charter change.

The Youth Action Day kicked off with a Morning Jog against Cha-Cha at 8:00 in the morning around Rizal Park. After which, youth and student leaders led by Kabataan Party-list Mong Palatino went back to the Rizal Monument to offer a wreath symbolizing the youth’s respect and honor for the national hero.

In the main program held in Luneta, Palatino said that “Rizal should be honored for his patriotism and nationalism and today’s youth should all be made aware of the lessons he bequeathed upon us.”

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June 9, 2009

On internet activism and protests

You’re a famous blogger, and you frequently write about your advocacies in your blog and in social networking sites. Some people, particularly “moderates,” look at the Internet as their preferred mode of activism (sometimes only mode), and shun out street protests. Why do you continue to take to the streets despite already having other venues for protest?

The Internet is a potent and alternative tool for campaigns and advocacies, no doubt, especially among the youth. We have to remember, however, that majority of Filipinos still do not have access to the world wide web. Ordinary minimum-wage earners, farmers, out-of-school youth, even many among the middle class are not Internet users. We cannot win any nationwide campaign or struggle without them. Long-lasting social change is not possible without the fundamental and primary participation of the masses. The Internet is not the medium to engage them in, and whenever we try to achieve fundamental changes in government and society, we cannot rely on the Internet alone. It’s naivete to believe that changes can be won on the electronic front.

Street protests are among the most accommodating and reliable forms of protests. It does not exclude anyone from participating. It accommodates anyone regardless of computer literacy, economic or social stature. History has also proven its potency in advancing the struggle of citizens for changes and reforms around the world.

There’s nothing wrong when ordinary university students use the Internet as a venue of protest, and I personally don’t take that against anyone. But, we have to be conscious that it is not the only mode of expressing support for an advocacy or expressing dissent against government policies and actions. There are times, like today, when more is demanded from us, and we cannot afford to be complacent with the kinds of actions we are willing to take.

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September 23, 2008

On the Kowloon Restaurant Workers’ Strike

Kowloon Restaurant’s greasy pancit canton is a actually a favorite of mine but I would now have to hold back to help compel the restaurant’s owners to make amends for the exploitation of their workers.

[Re-posted from Anton Dulce's Multiply site]

Before June of this year, the Kowloon management refused to pay the minimum wage which was mandated by law. In fact, it did not follow the three most-recent wage hikes, amounting to 82 pesos. As a result, while other workers were already receiving at least P382 a day, the workers of Kowloon only got home P300.

To pressure management into giving them something which the law already mandated as theirs yet which management refused to give, the workers wore black ribbons at work in a single day last June. But instead of listening to the workers, management instead reprimanded them, especially the union leaders.

Afterwards, they decided to hold a “picket protest” after their work hours and away from any locations that would result in disruptions in operations. Afterwards, management decided to hold negotiations with the union. But secretly, they filed a case of “illegal strike” against the workers at the NLRC (National Labor Relations Commission). So when management did agree to raise their wages to P377 a day, the workers only enjoyed this wage hike for one pay day. Why? Because the other Saturday, all 73 members of the union were fired.

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On the Kowloon Restaurant Workers’ Strike

Victor Villanueva

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