The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) is calling the attention of the public and policymakers to the plight and protest of 400 employees who were retrenched in 2020 due to the privatization of the Bacolod City Water District or BACIWA.

Amidst high unemployment in the country and the well-known problems brought about by privatization, the mass layoff of 400 employees due to a joint venture with Prime Water Inc, a business owned by Filipino billionaire Manny Villar and his family, deserves closer scrutiny.

The BACIWA employees, led by the Bacolod City Water District Employees Union or BEU, have been protesting against their illegal dismissal due to the privatization deal, and the illegal dismissal of many among them for opposing the water district’s sudden and swift privatization.

The BACIWA employees reject the BACIWA management’s claim about redundancy, stating that the BACIWA management has been hiring employees to replace them in their former positions, and even asks them to re-apply for their former positions but under new, more unprotected terms.

The public and the country’s policymakers should listen to the BACIWA employees, who continue to hold protests in front of the National Civil Service Commission in Batasan, Quezon City, calling for the swift resolution of their case, their immediate reinstatement and the granting of full back wages.

Many rights are at stake in the issue: employees’ right to security of tenure; their right to freedom of expression; their right to freedom of association; and the public’s right to sufficient, safe, and affordable water for personal and domestic use.

We also invoke the public’s right to know in relation to the privatization deal. We know that Rodrigo Duterte’s cronies, like the Villars, were rewarded handsomely under his presidency. The process and contents of the privatization deal should be investigated and made public.

The Ferdinand Marcos Jr government, if it is really serious in holding the Dutertes and their cronies accountable, should investigate the BACIWA privatization contract. If it is really serious in upholding labor and human rights, it should dialogue with the BACIWA employees, represented by the BEU, to attain justice in their case and reverse the violation of their rights.

During his campaign for the 2022 presidential elections, Marcos Jr reminded the people that social services were not yet privatized during his dictator father’s term. Now that he is president, he should reverse privatization deals that are detrimental to the people to ensure that Filipinos enjoy social services.###