By Reihana Mohideen
MANILA — At the convention of the broad democratic front Sanlakas held on January 31, more than 100 delegates elected five candidates to stand in the May national elections.
Fifty-two congressional seats will be contested under a system of proportional representation (known as the "party list" system) which gives the left a chance of winning seats for the first time in the Philippines parliament. Sanlakas, with a mass base of 200,000, stands a good chance of winning at least three seats.
The convention was opened by president Renato Constantino Jr, who said that the Sanlakas candidates "will sign a covenant, a legally enforceable contract, to carry out the Sanlakas' objectives inside the congress".
The executive vice-president of the militant workers' centre, the BMP (Solidarity of Filipino Workers), Victor Briz, who was also elected as a candidate, told Green Left Weekly, "The candidates for most of the other parties are politicians, unlike the leaders and officers of Sanlakas. We are not trapos [traditional politicians]. Most of us come from the grassroots of progressive organisations."
Commenting on Sanlakas' record in the mass movements, Briz said, "Sanlakas is always there, demonstrating and rallying. Sanlakas is known as the pro-people's organisation."
Briz said that he will use the election campaign to highlight the issues facing the working class.
"The two main issues facing the labour sector are wages and job security. The economic crisis has forced most of the small companies to close down. The BMP has lost almost 12,000 members due to retrenchments because of the crisis. They are trying to sacrifice workers to solve the crisis."
How should the labour movement respond? According to Briz, "Trade union centres should unite. Workers and capitalists have different interests. But if we unite we can respond strongly. The number one problem is the lack of unity of the working class. Even though there may be ideological differences, we can unite on issues such as wages and jobs. If we don't, globalisation will destroy the union movement."
And what guarantees will Sanlakas candidates give in order to avoid becoming trapos? According to Briz, "My experience as a labour leader will help me because if I am elected I will still maintain my links with the local unions. I will be accountable and recallable by the organisation if I don't follow its policies. We have signed such a covenant which is legally binding."
The top three candidates are from the labour movement. They include leaders of the BMP, Rene Magtubo and Mario Cruz. The fourth and fifth candidates are Efraim Bijar, a leader of the Negros chapter of Sanlakas, and Leo Hernandez from the Quezon City chapter of Sanlakas.