Brothers and sisters, Ramon Tulfo does not seem to realize that his duty as a special envoy to China is to protect the interest of Filipinos in any government-sponsored agreement where Chinese businessmen invest in our country. However, he has great confidence in the Chinese workers, therefore, instead of investigating these illegal and undocumented foreign workers in the Philippines, he chose to insult his fellow Filipinos.
Tulfo has been criticized for what he said in a TV interview that the Filipino construction workers are lazy. The Chinese contractors reportedly noticed that Filipino workers are slow, always having mindless chatter, and always at ease, not like the construction workers of China who work hard and put their jobs first, so they are the ones preferred for our construction projects. The truth is painful, said Tulfo, asking why he had to take back what he said. More worryingly, when the media asked him about the call for him to resign as a special envoy to China, he did not even think twice of showing a rude sign with his hand, idolizing his master at Malacañang.
We can’t deny that Tulfo insulted our fellow Filipino workers. For the construction workers’ sector, which is part of the Construction Industry Tripartite Council, Tulfo “tortured” workers in front of their “families, relatives and people, and he also boasted around the world.” They were victims of Tulfo’s arrogance.
The last thing that Filipino workers should experience in their own country is to be insulted by government officials tasked to protect them. This is especially unacceptable if the insult comes from someone tasked to promote the welfare of Filipinos, like a special envoy. In Catholic social teaching, Rerum Novarum, the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on capital and labor, it emphasizes the role of government officials, as state leaders, to respect the rights of the people, especially the poor and destitute. The wealthy, although equal in dignity with the poor, have the ability to defend themselves against threats to their rights. Those who are poor —including construction workers with below-minimum wage, should enjoy the protection of the state. Due to their condition in society, they have no sufficient ability to assert their rights. It is the government’s duty to help them—not to insult and humiliate them.
Therefore, it is the duty of our leaders to find ways to improve our workers’ ability and to give them equal opportunity to work, not to lower their dignity by showing them we favor illegal workers in the country. Construction workers significantly contribute to the developments we now enjoy. Their strength is the primary investment to build our homes, offices, roads and bridges, hospitals, schools and other important infrastructures.
In fact, because of the low wages of exploitative contractors and the disincentives to them to benefit even though their lives may be at risk due to poor working conditions, construction workers are working in these projects while their employers are enjoying their profits.
Brothers and sisters, by insulting Filipino construction workers, our leaders needlessly focus on the injustices these poor workers experience in their own country.
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