AMA Sugbo - KMU

03/10/2026

02/10/2026

PRESS STATEMENT
October 2, 2026

AMA Sugbo KMU stands in solidarity with drivers' strike, reaffirms calls for fare hikes and wage increases

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) expresses its solidarity with drivers who participated in the nationwide transport strike on September 29 and 30, led by Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), to protest against the oil price hikes and to reassert the people's demands.

Workers understand how essential fare hikes are to drivers. It is no different from the workers' call for a livable wage. Recently, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board - Region VII (RTWPB 7) issued Wage Order No. ROVII-27, which will implement a ₱42 wage increase for private sector workers in Region VII starting on October 14. This wage increase is still considered meager and unlivable, in light of the inflation the region is facing. Thus, AMA Sugbo-KMU reasserts its call for a ₱1,200 national living wage and echoes the drivers' call to implement a ₱10 fare hike.

While drivers and workers pursue livable fares and wages, AMA Sugbo-KMU also calls to junk neoliberal policies that affect their livelihoods. Just as drivers call to junk the Oil Deregulation Law and repeal value-added taxes (VAT) and excise taxes on petroleum products, workers also call to junk the Wage Rationalization Act and abolish RTWPB. The Wage Rationalization Act, enacted in 1989, was created by the Aquino administration not to rationalize wages, but to keep wages low and attract foreign investors.

Drivers and workers form the backbone of society through transportation and the production of the goods present today. While drivers and workers are underpaid, money gained from these neoliberal policies lines the pockets of bureaucrat capitalists and foreign interests. Bongbong Marcos, the highest politician and bureaucrat capitalist in the country, is pushing through with the US-led Pax Silica initiative in New Clark City, Tarlac, which will displace many indigenous people in the area and extract many of the nation's resources. The promise of neoliberal policies and imperialist initiatives to give Filipinos decent quality wages and jobs is a lie for the ruling class to maintain its accumulation of wealth while the masses suffer.

Thus, AMA Sugbo-KMU reaffirms the need for collective action and solidarity with drivers and multiple sectors in asserting and upholding the people's demands for livable wages, regularization, and national industrialization. # # #

01/10/2026

AMA Sugbo-KMU also criticized the P42 increase. Its chairperson Jaime Paglinawan said the adjustment would not be enough for workers and their families.
“Ang P42 nga umento sa suholan dinhi sa Central Visayas nga ipatuman sugod sa October 14, 2026 … Gamay kaayo ug dili makabuhi,” Paglinawan said.
He said the new wage would remain far behind the P755 minimum wage in the capital and would not keep pace with the rising prices of basic commodities, electricity, and water.
Paglinawan said workers should receive what he described as a living wage, citing a proposed P1,200 national minimum wage.
He also pointed to Central Visayas’ economic output, saying workers generated wealth worth P1.19 trillion in 2023, P1.28 trillion in 2024, and P1.32 trillion in 2025.
“Kinahanglan na ang Kongreso ug Senado maoy motakda og balaodnon alang sa umento sa suholan nga makabuhi aron adunay dignidad ang atong mga mamumuo,” Paglinawan said

TOP STORY: Workers’ groups in Central Visayas have rejected the newly approved P42 daily wage increase, saying the adjustment is inadequate amid the region’s high inflation and rising cost of basic necessities.

Read: https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2026/09/29/2559745/groups-p42-wage-hike-inadequate

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

Malungkot na balita.

Sa unang araw ng welga, inatake si Tatay Elmer habang nasa strike center sa Monumento. Agad syang isinugod sa Caloocan City Medical Center at hanggang ngayon ay walang malay.

Sa kabila ng kanyang edad at mahinang pangangatawan, pinili ni Tatay Elmer na pamunuan ang laban ng mga tsuper at komyuter laban sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis.

Mula 2020 nang sya ay maaresto bilang Piston 6, halos araw-araw ay nangunguna si Tatay Elmer sa pagmumulat, pag-oorganisa at pagpapakilos sa kapwa tsuper.

Kailangan pa natin si Tatay Elmer sa mahabang pakikibaka. Pagtulungan natin na bumuti ang kanyang kalagayan.

Para sa nais mag-ambag. Maaring ipadala sa GCash:

09953869620
Julie G.

📷 huling larawan ni Tatay Elmer bago inatake

01/10/2026

28/09/2026

Makabuhing Suholan Pakigbisogan!
P1,200 national minimum wage now na!

KUWANG RA ANG UMENTO SA SUHOLAN

AMA Sugbo-KMU Chairperson Jaime Paglinawan criticized the newly approved P42 wage increase for Central Visayas, calling for the wage order to be scrapped and for Congress and the Senate to pass legislation establishing a living wage.

The wage increase will take effect on Oct. 14, 2026, bringing the minimum wage in Class A and Class B areas to P542 to P582 per day.

Paglinawan said the increase remains insufficient amid rising prices of basic commodities and higher electricity and water costs.

AMA Sugbo-KMU is pushing for a P1,200 national minimum wage, which it said would provide workers with a living wage and greater dignity.

Click here, pbb.fyi/NewsUpdate for the latest updates.

28/09/2026

PRESS RELEASE
September 28, 2026

AMA Sugbo-KMU: The ₱42 wage increase fails to deliver social justice for workers and their families

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo - Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) condemns the newly approved wage order for Central Visayas, which will increase the current wages by ₱42.

AMA Sugbo-KMU Chairperson Jaime Paglinawan said, "Ang ‬₱42 nga umento sa suholan dinhi sa Central Visayas nga ipatuman sugod sa October 14, 2026 nga makabat na og ₱542 to ₱582 ang naa sa Class A ug Class B ang minimum wage sa rehiyon. Gamay kaayo ug dili makabuhi. Layo na kaayo ang gintang sa minimum wage sa kaulohan nga mokabat na og ₱755 matag adlaw. Labaw pang dili maka apas sa pagsirit sa presyo sa batakang palaliton ug pagsaka sa bayronon sa kuryente ug tubig."

[The ₱42 wage increase in Central Visayas, set to take effect on October 14, 2026, will bring the region's minimum wages for Class A and Class B areas to a range of ₱542 to ₱582. This amount is meager and unlivable. The gap of the minimum wage here and in the capital is already very wide, which has reached ₱755 per day. It is even harder to keep up with the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities and the rising costs of electricity and water.]

While the value of the peso has effectively dropped to a range of ₱73 to ₱75, it now takes ₱133.90 to purchase what ₱100 could buy back in 2018.

Workers have valid grounds for demanding a living wage, especially since Central Visayas has the highest inflation rate in the country. This is reflected in the high prices of commodities and services such as electricity and water, which have rates of ₱14.96 per kilowatt-hour and ₱259.16 per month for the first 10 cubic meters of water respectively.

Paglinawan asserted that, "Ang ulahing wage order sa RTWPB 7, wala maghatag og katilingbanong hustisya ngadto sa mga mamumuo diin tin-aw man unta sa batakang balaod sa Pilipinas nga kinahanglang segurohon sa estado nga makadawat ang mga mamumuo, organisado ug dili organisado, sa makabuhing suholan og kining makabuhing suholan mao ang ₱1,200 nga national minimum wage."

[The latest wage order from Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board - Region 7 office fails to deliver social justice to workers, even though the Philippine Constitution clearly mandates that the State must ensure workers—organized and unorganized—receive a living wage. Specifically, a national minimum wage of ₱1,200.]

Economic growth in Central Visayas has risen in the previous years. Workers generated wealth worth ₱1.19 trillion in 2023, ₱1.28 trillion in 2024, and ₱1.32 trillion in 2025.

Paglinawan concluded, "Kining maong wage order sa Wage Board Region 7, nagpakita kini nga inutil ug angayan na nga ibasura. Kinahanglan na ang Kongreso ug Senado maoy motakda og balaodnon alang sa umento sa suholan nga makabuhi aron adunay dignidad ang atong mga mamumuo ng ang naghago, nagpanday sa ekononomiya sa nasud ug labaw sa tanan nagmugna og produkto ug dakong ginansya alang sa mga kapitalista."

[This wage order from Wage Board Region 7 has proven to be useless and deserves to be junked. Instead, the Congress and the Senate must enact legislation for a living wage so that it ensures dignity for the workers who toil, build the nation's economy, and, above all, generate products and massive profits for capitalists.] # # #

REFERENCE:
Jaime Paglinawan Sr.
Chairperson, AMA Sugbo-KMU

21/09/2026

PRESS STATEMENT
September 21, 2026

AMA Sugbo - KMU reiterates workers' demands on 54th Declaration of Martial Law, condemns inutile response to inflation and unemployment

CEBU CITY – Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo - Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo - KMU) reiterates its calls to junk anti-worker policies, stop the attacks, and stop the US war machine on the 54th anniversary of Martial Law.

Although Martial Law was declared 54 years ago, similar economic and material conditions persist today. Central Visayas had an inflation rate of 8.1% in August and an unemployment rate of 6.3% in July. The ₱540 minimum wage in Cebu is considered a poverty wage amidst skyrocketing prices, with some workers doing multiple jobs to live. This is because neoliberal policies such as the Wage Rationalization Act, Labor Flexibilization, and the Oil Deregulation Law exploit workers through low wages and contractualization, funneling most of the money towards the pockets of big capitalists.

In response to the worsening state of the labor force, Bongbong Marcos is pushing through with the establishment of Pax Silica, a 1600-hectare initiative that will become a supply chain for semiconductors and electronics. AMA Sugbo - KMU strongly condemns this initiative. The government's promises that Pax Silica will generate thousands of jobs for Filipinos and will help our industries are lies. Rather, its true purpose is to help the U.S. by extracting critical minerals such as copper to create military machinery to rival China.

Moreover, the trumped-up charges against Jerome Adonis, Jacq Ruiz, Jaime Paglinawan, John Ruiz, Dyan Gumanao, and Jhonggie Rumol in the previous months are part of the state's pattern of intimidation and persecution of workers and labor advocates. Both Ferdinand Marcos and Bongbong Marcos share the same priorities: chasing and arresting workers and labor advocates first, rather than arresting the biggest thieves in the government.

AMA Sugbo - KMU demands that the government implement the ₱1,200 national minimum wage and regularization of workers to immediately alleviate the workers' burdens. Moreover, AMA Sugbo - KMU demands the implementation of genuine national industrialization so that Filipinos can use their own resources to generate jobs for the nation, instead of relying on foreign corporations and imperialist nations to improve the economy. # # #

(Photo by Bianca Razon)

20/09/2026

Singkwenta'y kwatro ka tuig na ang nilabay sukad gideklarar ni Marcos Sr. ang Balaod Militar sa Pilipinas, apan nagpabilin ang kalisod nga giatubang sa katawhan.

Ang ubos nga suholan ug kawalay trabaho kaylap gihapon karon, samtang nisirit ang presyo sa mga batakang palaliton ug serbisyo. Uban sa 8.1% nga inflation rate ug 6.3% nga unemployment rate sa Central Visayas, mas galisod na ang katawhan mabuhi kada adlaw tungod niini.

Usa ka ilusyon ang saad nga magmugna ang Pax Silica og mga dekalidad nga trabaho para sa mga Pilipino. Sa kamatuoran, usa lamang kini ka nawong sa pagpa itoy-itoy sa rehimeng Marcos sa Estados Unidos. Dagiton lamang niini ang katawhan sa iyahang mga imperyalistang gubat pinaagi sa paggamit sa atong mga rekurso.

Taliwala sa krisis, dili ta magpa-ilad. Padayon tang makigbisog alang sa pagsaka sa suholan, regularisasyon, nasudnong industriyalisasyon, ug tinuod nga repormang agraryo.

Karong umaabot nga ika-54 nga anibersaryo sa Balaod Militar, mag-uban ta sa pagdemanda sa gobyerno nga manubag sa mga isyu sa mga mamumuo ug katawhan!

54th Martial Law Anniversary Mobilization
📌 ASSEMBLIYA: 8:30 AM sa Bank of Commerce, duol sa Fuente Osmeña Circle
📌 PROGRAMA: 10:00 AM sa Metro Colon