The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) hails the resolution filed by the Makabayan Bloc in Congress pushing to investigate the cases of harassment faced by labor activists this year. We call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to support the investigation, as it is a needed addition to his push for legislation favoring democratic reforms.

Today, International Human Rights Day, the Makabayan Bloc in the House of Represntatives (HOR) composed of Rep. Antonio L. Tinio of ACT Teachers Partylist, Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago of Gabriela Women’s Party, and Rep. Renee Louise M. Co of Kabataan Partylist filed House Resolution No. 572 before the Twentieth Congress.

The resolution directs the HOR’s Committee on Human Rights to investigate, in aid of legislation, the recent spate of violations of labor activists’ rights and of cases of red-tagging, harassment and intimidation. The resolution cites CTUHR’s reports on the rights violations against labor activists.

The resolution’s filing comes a day after President Marcos Jr asked the country’s legislators to prioritize bills against political dynasties, for reforms in the party-list system, for the creation of a commission to investigate anomalies in government infrastructure projects, and for making documents relevant to the national budget publicly accessible. These proposed laws have been filed and supported by the Makabayan Bloc and other reformist political forces in previous Congresses.

President Marcos Jr is clearly trying to align himself with reformist and democratic forces in the country. Whatever his motives, the proposed laws that he is pushing for deserve to be approved by the legislature and implemented by the executive. He is in fact doing too little and too late. He should do more and be more aggressive in hastening these bills’ approval.

President Marcos Jr should also do more to uphold workers’ rights, which are inseparable from democracy and are fundamental to democratic societies. Workers should be free to unionize and organize in order to claim their rights and put pressure on government to heed their legitimate demands.

As such, President Marcos Jr should support the investigation into the cases of surveillance, harassment, red-tagging and intimidation that targeted labor activists this year and under his term. These attacks on labor activists ultimately redound to attacks on the labor and human rights of workers whom activists are serving.

The President should know that many workers and Filipinos are critical of, and cynical towards, his push for these bills. Posturing won’t do to convince these workers and Filipinos; they want concrete action and actual results. President Marcos Jr will surely earn greater distrust and censure if these bills do not become law and if he fails to do more to advance pro-democratic reforms.