ALU backs Noynoy, Mar

A major group under the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the biggest workers’ organization in the country, is not participating in today’s celebration of Labor Day.

But the Associated Labor Union (ALU) has announced that it is supporting the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his running mate Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II in time for Labor Day.

Michael Mendoza, area vice president of ALU-TUCP for the Visayas, clarified that the announcement to support the Aquino-Roxas tandem would only be limited to the ALU federation, the biggest among the 40 labor federations under the TUCP.

TUCP, which is headed by his father, labor leader Democrito Mendoza, will issue its own official statement today.

Michael refused to categorically say if TUCP as a whole would go for Aquino-Roxas tandem. But two officials from the union confirmed that TUCP, through Democrito, would declare on Labor Day that their organization would endorse Aquino and Roxas.

The decision to back Aquino and Roxas came after the LP candidates met with the Mendoza patriarch and other union officials at Democrito’s residence in Liloan town, northern Cebu last Wednesday, according to the sources who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media on the matter.

Aquino and Roxas reportedly held off their scheduled campaign sorties in a Luzon province after Democrito agreed to meet with them on Wednesday morning.

The two flew to Cebu in a private helicopter, one of the sources said.

They said that during the meeting, Democrito asked Aquino only one thing should he win the presidency: to be fair with labor, just like what his mother, President Corazon Aquino, did during her administration in 1986.

Aside from that, Aquino reportedly assured Democrito that the labor sector would be represented in tripartite agencies of the government, as was practiced during his mother’s term.

Democrito, during the early stages of the campaign, had publicly declared his personal support for administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro because he had known Teodoro for a long time.

But sources said Democrito was expected to endorse the Aquino-Roxas tandem since it was the collective decision of the leaders of TUCP.

Michael Mendoza, for his part, said that the decision of ALU to support Aquino and Roxas was made after a series of consultations with the group’s leaders and members.

But he admitted that the Cory Aquino factor weighed in a lot in their decision.

Michael confirmed there was a dialogue between the camp of Aquino and the top officials of ALU-TUCP, led by his father before ALU decided to support Aquino and Roxas.

But he declined to elaborate on what was discussed, except to affirm that his father only asked Noynoy to be “fair with labor.”

Michael said that during the Cory’s term, there was a harmonious relation between the labor sector and her administration. The Cory administration also consulted the labor sector on labor issues.

Michael said tripartite agencies like the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System and Pag-IBIG, were represented by labor sector during the Cory administration.

Cory was also instrumental for policies that allowed workers’ enterprise to grow. He cited the case of the Cebu-based Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (Opascor), which was then a government-owned and controlled corporation that went bankrupt.

Instead of giving it to a private corporation, Cory turned over the port handling firm to its workers that turned Opascor into a well-managed and profitable company.

It was also under the Cory’s administration that the first legislated wage increase was given, he said.

Michael, who has been appointed member of the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) board of directors, said ALU’s decision to support Aquino should not be seen as going against the administration, which endorses Teodoro.

He said he could resign from the CPA if the administration shows dismay because of his support for Aquino.

While Aquino enjoys the support of labor, a pro-life advocacy group is asking the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to speak out strongly against candidates who support the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

“Undeniably, we are in a very crucial situation as the consistently number one in the presidential surveys is the most pro-RH, pro-choice and pro-population control Benigno Aquino III,” said Human Life International (HLI) country director Dr. Rene Bullecer in a letter to CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar.

“We the laity expect our bishops and priests to speak out strongly against a pro-choice, pro-RH candidate for president,” Bullecer added.

On Aquino’s closest rival, Bullecer said that Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar is “surrounded by hardcore anti-life and anti-Catholic senatorial line-up.”

In his letter dated April 28, Bullecer said there were bishops who were endorsing the candidacy of candidates who support the RH bill but he did not identify these prelates.

Bullecer said a similar letter was sent to 30 other bishops, including Pampanga Archbishop Aniceto Paciano, Antique Bishop Romeo Lazo and Palawan Bishop Pedro Arigo.

The HLI-Philippines, the Task Force for Family and Life – Visayas and The Alliance for the Filipino Family International are endorsing Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro.

The bishops were also provided with a list of pro-life senatorial candidates the group is endorsing, namely; Francisco “Kit” Tatad, lawyer Jo Aurea Imbong, former Sen. Franklin Drilon, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, former Senator Vicente Sotto III, Gwen Pimentel, lawyer Alex Lacson and Adrian Sison. (see related story on page 8).

In a mock elections conducted on the first week of April, family life workers from various parishes throughout the Cebu Archdiocese also picked Teodoro for president and Roxas as vice president.

But in the national summit of pro-life advocates in March that was also led by Bullecer, a majority of the participants from different parts of the country voted for Villar for president and Roxas for vice president. /Inquirer, CORRESPONDENTS CARMEL LOISE MATUS, JHUNNEX NAPALLACAN AND CHITO O. ARAGON.