The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured on Wednesday, June 19, that it will work for the removal of the Philippines from the list of countries classified as worst for workers of the International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC).
In an interview with Super Radyo dzBB, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma expressed his strong desire to ensure that the country is no longer included in the next report's list of the worst countries for laborers.
“Nakalulungkot at hindi katanggap tanggap, ‘yun pong nabanggit na ipinagkaloob na rating ng ITUC sa ating bansa, dahil wala pong... Siguro kayo na rin mismo ang makakapagsabi ay hindi naman po siguro ganyan ang aktwal na kalagayan sa ating bansa (It is regrettable and unacceptable that our country received the ITUC rating mentioned above, as there is no... Perhaps you can say that this is not the actual reality in our country)," Laguesma said.
The ITUC has given the Philippines a score of 5 in its latest index, indicating significant concerns about workers' rights.
Despite legal protections, workers reportedly lack practical access to these rights, exposing them to authoritarian regimes and unfair labor practices.
The ITUC pointed out instances of red-tagging and violence against Filipino labor activists, noting that these have created fear and silenced worker voices.
Laguesma urged ITUC to verify the responses it receives from member associations during its surveys before drawing conclusions about a country's labor conditions.
“Totoo po na mayroong mga kaso at hindi naman po natin ‘yan ipinagwawalang bahala. Pero sa pananaw po namin, ito naman ay mga isolated cases na meron pong hakbangin kaagad na isinasagawa ang atin pong pamahalaan (There are cases, and we are not ignoring them. However, these are isolated cases, and the government took action on these)," he said.
“Kung tayo po talaga ay nariyan sa mga bansa na medyo, ika nga’y talaga namang sa tingin ko hindi tayo karapat dapat mapabilang doon eh, eh bakit po na-elect bilang miyembro ng governing body nitong kakatapos na International Labor Conference (If we are indeed one of those countries, which I believe we are not, then why were we voted to the governing body of the recent International Labor Conference?)" he added.