TWO days left — and aha, it’s election day!
Naturally, wherever you go, people are buzzing about the elections—winnable candidates, alleged vote buying and selling, and everything in between.
Tension is rising fast and high.Everyone seems unusually sensitive. Still, we pray that Negros remains free from election-related violence.
But one thing that truly made me tip my hat: the so-called power(ful) vow of the Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power) to ensure zero brownouts in its franchise areas on May 12.
The Enrique Razon Jr.-led Negros Power even signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) – Negros Provincial Office, explicitly committing to uninterrupted power in Silay City, Talisay City, Bacolod City, Bago City, Murcia, and Don Salvador Benedicto on election day.
From every angle, this move by Negros Power is praiseworthy.Elections are the lifeblood of democracy — our votes are sacred. And in this high-tech era of automated elections, electricity is not just important — it’s critical. Without it, the sanctity of the vote is jeopardized.
So, hats off to Negros Power.
Kudos to its top honcho, Sir Roel Castro, for this significant commitment to safeguarding our electoral process.
Indeed, what Negros Power is offering to Negrenses and Bacolodnons is a power(ful) vow that goes beyond applause — it deserves genuine gratitude.
DIVIDED LABOR FORCE
On the other hand, there’s a rather pitiful issue still unfolding — this time about the so-called labor vote in the province.
In Negros Occidental, the labor vote refers to the collective voice of both agricultural and non-agricultural workers. This is precisely what San Carlos Bishop Gerry Alminaza is now championing as we approach May 12. His goal: to advance workers’ welfare and push for the realization of a P1,200-per-day living wage.
Bishop Gerry, who chairs the Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS), believes that if taken seriously, the labor vote could be a catalyst for the upliftment of Negros workers beyond this election.
Take note: Negros Occidental has at least 1.5 million hacienda laborers and workers — an overwhelming 75% of the province’s 1,001,732 registered voters.
TOO LATE TO ADVOCATE?
Negros Occidental is home to five major labor umbrella groups:
* General Alliance of Workers’ Associations (GAWA)
* Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (PACIWU)
* Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)
* Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)
* National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP)
NACUSIP president Roland de la Cruz claims they will deliver a solid labor vote on May 12.
NACUSIP has around 70,000 members in the province.
But Wennie Sancho, GAWA’s secretary-general, disagrees.
“It’s a bit too late to advocate for that,” he said.
“We also have our own interests and choices,” he added.
Sancho explained that while labor groups may have a shared concern — such as the long-pending Labor Standardization Law — they remain divided on other pressing issues.
THE SADDEST REALITY
Listening to Bishop Alminaza, De la Cruz, and Sancho, a painful truth emerges: the labor force in Negros is fractured.
The idea of a labor vote now echoes the old concept of the hacienda vote, or what was once called “vote or gabot” (ejectment) in the ‘80s and ‘90s — when landlords dictated how their workers voted.
But times have changed. Most haciendas in Negros Occidental have since been subjected to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Today, agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) are free to choose their leaders, whether in local or national elections. Many of them are also members of labor organizations.
And yet, the question remains: Can’t labor unions in Negros unite and become a powerful force this May 12? What’s dividing them? Money? Interests? Pitiful, if true.
How can the public truly sympathize with their plight if they themselves are fragmented? They are like a ship without a rudder—adrift, unsure, and vulnerable.
A sad reality indeed./PN
