The National Democratic Front-Batangas denounces the Marcos Jr government’s plan to create a ‘special economic zone’ in Batangas as a vain attempt of attracting foreign investment but detrimental to workers rights.

Under Proclamation No. 1127, four parcels of land in Barangays Pagaspas and Trapiche in Tanauan City, Batangas, would be transformed and integrated into the existing First Industrial Township–Special Economic Zone (FIT-SEZ). In line with anti-people’s neo-liberal agenda and policies like what FPFEM done five decades ago.

What Executive Secretary Ralph Recto gleefully announces as the administration’s push to disperse investments beyond Metro Manila is in actuality nothing more than disbursing parcels of land to big businesses with Manila now a bloated pool of cheap labor. This plan of a special economic zone would do nothing except turn the countryside of Batangas into a hub of cheap exploitative labor, pollution, and precarious contractual work dependent on foreign whims.

Like any other so-called special economic zones, the FIT-SEZ claims to offer and cater thousands of workers with improved livelihood. Except this is a blatant lie. Workers will be subject to even more anti-worker policies and laws.

While PEZA is mandated to hire local workers, in reality it does not follow this because of loose requirements and standards. Not all local residents will be hired by the PEZA locators.

Clearly, the economic zone would not be able to absorb the province’s workforce. The only result would be a growing reserve labor force. And a bloated reserve labor force becomes the justification for oppressive labor conditions and immoral (inhumane) slave wages. Already, reports of “No Unions, No Strikes” (NUNS) policy is being weaponized against workers’ indignation with stagnant wages.

There is no indication that the FIT-SEZ expansion would be anything other than displacement of rural residents, the bloating of semi-proletarian workforce, and worsening of workers’ oppression.

Furthermore, Recto’s attempt to justify the expansion with industrial estates, export processing zones, IT parks, and tourism exposes for whose benefit these economic zones are.

The manufacturing industry in Region IV-A is primarily owned by monopoly-capitalist companies based in US, Japan, China, and Europe. While almost 60% of the total merchandise exports of the ‘manifacturing’ sector are electronic products and semi-conductors, these come from factories geared towards assembly, testing, and packaging (ATP) where even the equipment and the assembly parts are imported.

Clearly, even the reactionary state’s own data cannot hide the continued worsening of the manufacturing industry that is sure to push our semi-colonial, semi-feudal society into yet another economic crisis. The people of Batangas must oppose this false ‘development’ and continue the struggle for genuine agrarian reform and workers’ right to unionize.

Batangueño Workers must oppose this neoliberal development that run havoc to workers rights and welfare.

Oppose Anti-People Neoliberal Policy!
Oppose No Unions, No Strike Policy!
Oppose Development Aggression!
Struggle for National Living Wage!
Struggle for union rights!