GMA: BRING CHRISTMAS CHEERS THROUGH PRICE ROLLBACKS, WAGE HIKES

PRESS RELEASE/November 7, 2004
Reference: Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, OFM
National Co-Chairperson
Contact: 4107623PCPR

The Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) stated today that Malacañang can truly bring Christmas cheers by ordering price rollbacks especially on oil, power and water rates; substantial wage and salary hikes; re-channeling of the debt-service and military budgets to social services, tax reduction and other beneficial moves for the poor.

The activist church group criticized Malacañang for acting like a clown who expects the people to smile amidst intolerable economic hardships.

“How can jobless fathers and mothers bring cheers to their families in the face of dimmer prospects of stable incomes and the burden of eight new sinful taxes? There are tears and no cheers as many Filipinos can hardly cope with the ever increasing cost of living. We cannot be cheerful when despite the sacrifices of the poor, the shameless corruption of high government and military officials continue to worsen the country’s economic crisis,” Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, OFM, PCPR National Co-Chairperson stated.

“It’s so easy for the President and her spokespersons to say “cheers” as they don’t suffer the plight of many Filipinos who are doomed to spend Christmas with less paychecks and ever increasing debts,” the activist priest added. PCPR further decried the government’s ‘no permit, no rally’ policy and its increasing repression against workers groups rallying for wage hikes and other people’s organizations demanding urgent socio-economic reforms.

“Tomorrow, November 8, marks the death anniversary of Capt. Panfilo Villaruel – a man who was brutally killed by police agents under the orders of Malacañang officials who were not amused by his extra-ordinary expression of outrage against the corruption in government. We demand justice for Capt. Villaruel and all victims of police brutality as we continue to demand long-term resolutions of the main causes of the country’s economic crisis,” PCPR concluded.