The International Working Women’s Day (IWWD) this year was the scene of militant and fierce women who took to the streets to march for their rights.
“When the cost of living rises and corruption runs rampant, women will take to the streets!” asserted GABRIELA Secretary-General Clarice Palce.
In Manila, around 10,000 women gathered at Liwasang Bonifacio to demand the abolition of the 12% value-added tax (VAT), which has imposed only an economic toll and long has been carried by Filipino women.
Led by women’s alliance Gabriela, the protesters also marched to the United States Embassy to condemn the US-Israel wars of aggression (codenamed Operation “Epic Fury” by President Trump and “Lion’s Roar” by Prime Minister Netanyahu) in the Middle East, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
They also denounced the Marcos Jr. administration’s subservience to the United States through the expansion of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites and the intensified US military presence in the country.
Bearing the brunt of rising costs
For catechist and public school teacher Lena Ramos, the 12% VAT is a daily burden on already strained household budgets.
“Ang mahal-mahal na nga ng bilihin, mayroon pang tax. Ang problema pa rito, maliit pa rin naman ang sahod ng mga manggagawa. Kung sa 12% na yan pwede na yan sanang pambili ng bigas, pambili ng tubig, at iba pa,” said Ramos.
In three decades of teaching, Ramos has moved between public and private schools and adapted to a hybrid learning setup during the pandemic.
“Ngayon ay almost 30 years na akong nagtuturo, pero tampok pa rin ang kontraktwalisasyon, walang regular, at iba pang kalunos-lunos na kalagayan ng mga manggagawa lalo na sa kababaihan,” said Ramos.
Ramos further lamented that these financial and economic strains hit especially close to home, as she also supports her four children who are studying.
“Ang baon nila na P200, kapag kinompyut mo may P24 na 12% tax din. So bawas agad ang P24. Malaking bagay na nga iyon sa mga bata,” Ramos explained, saying that such an amount could already cover transportation and other daily expenses, especially for students commuting to school.
Meanwhile, the Marcos Jr. administration is seeking emergency powers to bring down excise taxes. Such a demand did not sit well with many groups, including lawmakers and mothers like Ramos.
Former ACT Teachers Party-list representative France Castro slammed the Marcos Jr. administration for its failure to deliver meaningful relief to the Filipino people in the face of relentless oil price hikes and rising costs of basic commodities, calling the government’s response wholly insufficient and its bid for special powers a dangerous red herring.
“The Marcos administration would like to blame the global market, and yes, we are dependent on imported oil—that much is true,” Castro affirmed. “But the deeper problem is that the government has tied its own hands with the Oil Deregulation Law. Instead of genuine competition bringing prices down, oil companies have been colluding to ensure prices only go in one direction: up. And this administration has done nothing meaningful to stop it.”
“Panawagan ko sanang tanggalin na itong VAT at excise tax sa mga bilihin lalo pa’t ang nagyayari lamang ay kinokorap. Sila riyan ang may masarap na buhay, habang kaming nagbabayad ng buwis ang hirap na hirap. Halos wala nang makain,” Ramos added.
The ripple effect
Oil, in particular, remains a key driver of the broader economy as it directly affects transportation, electricity generation, food production, and the cost of delivering basic goods. Any increase in fuel prices inevitably ripples through the entire supply chain, driving the cost of basic commodities and daily expenses carried largely by working families.
Such vulnerabilities are evident amid the escalating tensions in West Asia, particularly involving the US-Israel’s war aggression on Iran. This aggression has disrupted global oil routes after the latter moved to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz known as one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.
It must be noted that roughly 20 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day, which accounts for about 20% of the world’s total oil supply.
This means that any disruption in this narrow maritime corridor would immediately send shockwaves through global oil markets as fuel prices could rise sharply and trigger inflation across countries, including the Philippines, that depend heavily on imported petroleum.
Nearly all of the country’s crude came from just three West Asian countries: 49% from Saudi Arabia, 28% from the UAE, and 19% from Iraq.
For a mother and jeepney operator like Tamishe Dela Cruz, the threat of another fuel price hike brings immediate uncertainty for both drivers and operators.
“Nangangamba po kasi tataas po ang presyo ng langis, mga krudo, gasolina. Siyempre nagtatanong po ako sa mga driver ko kung kakayanin po nila,” said Dela Cruz.
“Nangangamba din ako dahil bilang operator, kailangan ko ring magbaba ng presyo ng boundary ko kasi baka mamaya hindi na kayanin ng mga driver sa taas ng presyo ng langis,” she added.
Before becoming a jeepney operator, Dela Cruz worked as a caregiver in 2008. Using her earnings, she invested in jeepney units and eventually expanded her livelihood. Today, she manages eight traditional jeepneys plying routes in Cubao-Divisoria, Quiapo-Bacood, San Juan-Divisoria, and Pasig-Divisoria, with drivers paying P800 daily boundary for each unit.
“Nalulungkot din ako dahil sa kalagayan ng ating mga overseas Filipino workers (OFW) na naghahanapbuhay lang pero nadadamay sa kaguluhan sa ibang bansa. Tulad ko noon, meron kaming mga pamilya dito sa Pilipinas na binubuhay,” Dela Cruz lamented.
Around 2.5 million OFWs are caught in the crossfire following the intensified bombings and attacks by the US-Israel against Iran, according to Migrante Philippines.
Among them was Mary Jane Velaquez de Vera, a Filipino caregiver, who succumbed to death after being hit by shrapnel while entering a bomb shelter. More than 1,400 OFWs have since sought repatriation following the escalating wars in West Asia.
“Marami na kaming sinasakripisyo. Mula pa nga noong pumutok yung usapin ng jeepney phaseout, umaaray na kaming mga operator at driver. Dadagdag pa itong usapin ng pagtaas ng petrolyo na tiyak na apektado kaming mga ordinaryong mamamayan,” Dela Cruz stressed.
Double whammy
For most urban poor families, the existing minimum wage of P645 is no longer sufficient, according to Carmelita “Ka Mameng” Collado of the Urban Poor Coordinating Council.
Data from think tank group IBON Foundation showed that the real value of the minimum wage is only about P546 in NCR, an amount far below the rising cost of living said Ka Mameng.
“Sumasabay pa sa isyu ng kahirapan itong mataas na presyo ng bilihin kasabay ng mataas pang VAT at excise tax at hindi ito maglalagay sa magandang buhay ng mga mahirap,” Ka Mameng scored.
Ka Mameng organizes urban poor communities in Brgy. UP Campus, Old Capitol Site, San Vicente, Krus na Ligas, among others in Quezon City. She noted that most residents rely on informal sources of income like manicure services, haircutting, and laundry work for other households which often provide unstable and measly daily earnings.
“Sa pagtaas ng buwis, paano pa mabubuhay? May mga anak na nag-aaral. Paano pa nila pag-aaralin iyon?” Ka Mameng lamented.
Ka Mameng also raised concerns over development projects affecting communities in the UP campus, particularly the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Park in Pook Aguinaldo.
“Ang SDG, proyekto ng UP para i-commercialize ang lupa ng Pook Aguinaldo kung saan may mga magsasaka. Paano mabubuhay ang mga magsasaka kung kukunin ang lupa para sa programa tulad nito? Wala talagang idudulot na pag-asa upang malagay sa magandang buhay ang mga maralitang lungsod,” she said.
Ka Mameng further echoed the urban poor sector’s demands for Quezon City LGU to heed their people’s plans and on-site development projects, emphasizing that development projects should prioritize housing security and sustainable livelihood rather than commercialization.
“Sana kilalanin ng ating Mayor ang Peoples Plan. At sana kung magpapatayo, on-site development, sana wala nang bayaran dito dahil ito naman ay mula sa USUFRUCT agreement between UP and Quezon City LGU,” she added.
Free women political prisoners
Beyond economic woes, Karapatan NCR decried the continuing detention of women political prisoners in the country.
“Isa sa mga panawagan ngayong araw ng kababaihan ay ang pagpapalaya sa lahat ng mga babaeng bilanggong politikal,” said Karapatan NCR spokesperson Jhana Cordovez
There are 135 women political prisoners behind bars today, the majority of whom are activists, human rights defenders, development workers, environmental defenders, gender rights advocates, and other dissenters.
In NCR, labor organizer Romina Astudillo has been languishing in prison at Camp Karingal for more than five years.
On November 26 last year, Astudillo’s hearing revealed anomalies after her work laptop was found tampered with since her arrest.
Astudillo was among the Human Rights Day 7 alongside labor organizers Mark Ryan Cruz, Jaymie Gregorio, and Joel Demate who are also still detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
“Ang mga kababaihan ang pangunahing tina-target ng estado at ng patriyarkal na lipunan natin. Dahil sa pananaw na porket babae, emosyonal, mahina. Sa kalagayan nina Shami at iba pang kababaihang bilanggong pulitikal, nilalaban ang karapatan ng mga manggagawa, ng mga maralita, ng lahat ng unang anakpawis na pinagsasamantalahan,” said Cordovez.
Cordovez reiterated their demand for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and rechannel its funds to basic social services such as education, health care, housing among others. She also slammed the weaponization of the law through the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA), noting how these are being used to vilify and target activists and dissenters.
“Sa kabila ng lumalalang krisis panlipunan, ang dapat na tugunan ng administrasyong Marcos Jr. ay ang serbisyo para sa maralitang sektor hindi para maghasik ng pananakot at panggigipit sa mga kababaihan at manggagawa,” she concluded.
