A multi-sectoral group has pledged to protect the interests of the community.
After a series of successful mass protests, Fr. Genesis Langbao, President of the Baguio City Ecumenical Council, assured the public that the church will continue to support the call of marginalized groups. “Assurance po sa hanay ng simbahan, we will continue to join the people, especially the marginalized,” he said.
The church, in a concerted effort to encourage discourse on issues in the region, joined with sectoral representatives in a show of solidarity with Mike Cabangonn of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Geraldine Cacho of Tongtongan ti Umili, Ides Macapanpan of Guro Laban sa Kurapsyon, Gabriel Siscar of Kabataan Partylist Cordillera, Atty. Zossimo Abratique, President of the Baguio Market Vendor’s Alliance Consolidated, Inc. (BAMARVA), and Eugene Enciso of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, all of whom pledged support for efforts to become watchdogs for the communities’ facing issues.
In a statement of engagement, Langbao said, “Since its inception, the council has stood as a prophetic voice in Baguio—symbolized by the gangza in our logo—to sound the alarm against the theft of public resources that harms the marginalized we are sworn to serve.”
Abratique updated on the movement to save the Baguio City Public Market against the SM Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) deal for redevelopment.
The movement submitted to the Baguio City Council this week a petition with 20,000 signatories urging a total rejection of the deal, which is seen to set back the livelihood of small businesses as well as vendors.
Siscar and Enciso relayed a successful campus walkout which gathered over 5,000 in a show of force, with students from the Benguet State University (BSU), Saint Louis University, University of the Philippines Baguio, University of the Cordilleras, University of Baguio, Pines City Colleges, Easter Colleges, and Baguio Central University all gathering at Malcolm Square for a centralized program which highlighted issues such as budget cuts in education, the Baguio Public Market Privatization, the Jeepney Phaseout, mining in Mankayan, Benguet, and continued corruption in the country.
Cacho, in a statement by the TTU, asserted the need for a transparent and greater government subsidy for public infrastructure and services, shunning the PPPs in governance which have been tagged to “Hide privatization behind technical terms. In reality, it gives large corporations control over public services like transport, water, and markets for decades. While it technically does not grant ownership of these facilities and services, PPP still reduces public control and accountability. When private firms run public services, profit becomes the main goal—not the people’s needs. Many PPPs are passed without public input, making government units beholden to the vision of a profit-driven corporation rather than community-identified needs.”
Macapanan assured that teachers in the educational sector are united in the call for a change in corrupt systems of government that affect education and the people’s struggle.
Cabangon said that the planned PPP for Baguio in the Smart Urban Mobility Project (SUMP) another under the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) has the congestion fee for vehicles entering the Central Business District that could reach P250. Although public vehicles such as jeepneys are not included in this fee, its impact on the livelihood of drivers and operators will be deeper because the plans under the SUMP include private fleet management of PUVs.
In closing, Cabangonn of Kilusang Mayo Uno stressed the plight of the common worker and confirmed that the issues of raising wages and opposing the impending jeepney phaseout will be taken up in a street protest on November 30, coinciding with Bonifacio Day, which labor groups have designated as a National Day of Action for accountability and workers’ rights. Maria Elena Catajan