“Peoples’ Forum 2015: 'APEC not good for Filipino masses'”, 12 Nov 2015

Representatives from the fields of economics, trade and industry, law and academe join DLSU students in analyzing the real impacts of APEC [Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation] in the Philippine economy…

Josua Mata, the Secretary-General of SENTRO, a network of trade unions in the Philippines, highlighted the studies conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) showing the slow economic growth of the country since 1990s…

APEC’s neo-liberal economic policies includes privatization, contractualization and public-private agreements – all of which have been detrimental to the Filipino working class masses…

Though recent statistics present the rosy Philippine economy, Max de Mesa, chairperson of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, called for a closer look at the bigger picture – the human rights violations caused by the decade-long FTAs (free trade agreements)…

Citing the case of the Kentex factory workers, de Mesa stressed, “Zero strike does not mean zero human rights violation.” He further appealed that people must value human dignity over statistics…