Latest news with #ReneeCo
GMA Network
30-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Bill seeking P1,200 national minimum wage refiled in House
A bill mandating a P1,200 national daily minimum wage was refiled in the House of Representatives Wednesday. In filing House Bill 2599, Makabayan bloc lawmakers Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list and Renee Co of Kabataan party-list said the regional wage board system in the last 30 years only resulted in poverty-level wages for workers. They proposed the abolition of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board by amending Article 99 of the Labor Code and replace it the National Wages and Productivity Board. 'Filipino workers have weighed in on the regionalized wage regime through 36-year history and found it a big failure. They are now demanding that it be scrapped and for the Philippines to return to the regime of uniform national minimum wage that is based on the family living wage,' the lawmakers said in their explanatory note. The authors then cited an IBON Foundation study showing that the amount needed to raise the current minimum wage to P1,200 living wage only requires 29.7% to 49.1% of the profits amassed by private employers, making it feasible if only employers are willing to cut down on profits. 'The surge in the prices of oil and other basic goods and services in the last several years likewise has devoured, according to some estimates, the wages of our workers by 25-30%. Workers are now groaning under the crushing effect of heavy taxes and high prices on their wages and income,' the lawmakers said. 'It is therefore imperative for the State to ensure that what the Constitution-the workers' just share in the fruits of production and the workers' right to living wage-is fulfilled in pursuit of the equitable distribution of income and wealth towards economic and social development. The State must recognize its justice and necessity given the workers' contribution to society and the economy amid all the hardships,' they added. Violators will face several penalties, including a fine of 100% of the total wage increment due their employees multiplied by the number of unpaid working days, plus P50,000 moral damages to each employee, and suspension of business permit.—with a report from Tina Panganiban Perez/AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
28-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Kabataan rep wears protest attire vs. political dynasties, corruption
Kabataan Party-list representative Atty. Renee Co wore a protest dress at President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s fourth State of the Nation Address. For her first time attending SONA, Co used the skirt she wore during her University of the Philippines Law graduation, with the volunteer artists painting over it. They are Gaia Mauricio of Panday Sining, a youth cultural organization, and Albert Raqueño, a fresh graduate of UP Fine Arts. The dress features a young Filipina rising from devastating floods to break the seat of power being fought over by local elites propped up by foreign powers, such as the United States and China. According to a press statement from Kabataan Party-list, the painting is a message of the youth's anger regarding the Philippines' states of calamity, but it also challenges the youth to go beyond resilience and to strike at the political roots of the worsening crisis. "The youth must rise above the aftermath of disaster, despite still being submerged in floodwaters of social crisis that has swept away basic rights such as education, food security, and other basic needs, and even fundamental principles like justice and accountability," the statement read. The party-list calls on the new generation to "turn their grief into a fight to end political dynasties and bureaucrat capitalism that turn the government into an instrument for the profit of local elites and their foreign backers." "Kayo po na nakaupo, tanawin niyo ang tunay na kalagayan ng kabataang Pilipino. Sa mga kapwa ko kabataan, panahon na upang buong tapang na wakasan ang agawan ng upuan ng iilang nagmomonopolyo ng kapangyarihan," Co said. —Nika Roque/Hermes Joy Tunac/MGP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
04-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
NTF-ELCAC urges House to reconsider bill penalizing ‘red-tagging'
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Friday called on the House of Representatives to reconsider the bill penalizing 'red-tagging.' In a statement, the anti-insurgency task force's Legal Cooperation Cluster (LCC) pointed out that the possible punishment for red-tagging may be used against legitimate government actions against rebels. 'The NTF-ELCAC, through the LCC, therefore urges Congress to carefully reconsider House Bill No. 213,' the task force said. 'Instead of introducing vague new offenses, we call for the strengthening of existing legal remedies and support for institutions that protect both national security and civil liberties,' he added. Red-tagging is the practice of accusing people and groups of having ties to communist rebels or terrorist groups. The NTF-ELCAC said that without clear legal standards, the bill risks punishing constitutionally protected speech and creating a 'chilling effect' on lawful disclosures, especially those with verified intelligence and testimonies from former insurgents. 'By seeking to criminalize this term without statutory clarity or proof of actual harm, the bill invites abuse, misapplication, and political weaponization,' the task force said. 'Such an approach risks shielding genuine threat actors behind legal ambiguity while penalizing public servants for performing their sworn duties,' it added. The NTF-ELCAC stressed that public officials are duty-bound to warn communities about security threats. 'Criminalizing such disclosures weaken national security efforts and obstruct the government's mandate to maintain peace and order,' it said. In House Bill 213, party-list representatives Antonio Tinio of ACT and Renee Co of Kabataan cited the Supreme Court's ruling in 2024 that red-tagging poses "threats to a person's right to life, liberty, or security." 'This judicial affirmation validates the lived experiences of activists and the long-held position of human rights advocates that red-tagging is a direct and credible threat that warrants decisive legislative action,' the lawmakers said. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
