10K cops, soldiers to secure Labor Day rites in Metro

At least 10,000 police personnel and soldiers will be deployed in key parts in the National Capital Region to secure activities for Labor Day this Sunday. The Metro Manila police said it will seek reinforcements from Central and Southern Luzon, as well as the military's Metro Manila command, radio dzBB's Glen Juego reported. The Philippine National Police (PNP) was to go on full alert starting 8 a.m. Saturday, according to a separate report by dzBB's Benjie Liwanag Jr. Metro Manila police spokesman Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said cops will also have reinforcements from the PNP's elite Special Action Force unit as well. Carlos said the preparations should not be taken as "overkill" case because the PNP is merely preparing for a possible worst-case scenario. In Manila, meanwhile, the Manila Police District will field at least 1,500 personnel to watch various venues of Labor Day activities this Sunday. Manila Police District spokesman Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo said city police Civil Disturbance Management Unit (CDMU) personnel are to be reinforced by their counterparts from Central and Southern Luzon, dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. Labor groups are expected to hold rallies and protest marches at the Labor Department in Intramuros, and at the Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang on Sunday. NCR wages only 41% of cost to live decently The daily minimum wage of P404 in Metro Manila can cover only 41 percent of the amount needed for decent living, a militant think tank said. IBON Foundation said this is less than the figure 10 years ago in 2001, where the minimum wage was about 52 percent of the cost to live decently. "In 2001, the daily minimum wage of P265 was half of the amount a family needed to live decently at P509. As the (Department of Labor and Employment) and the wage boards deliberate on whether to give a wage hike next month, (government should) raise wages to a decent level and approximate the wage increase to the estimated family living wage," the group said in an article posted on its website. As of March 2011, it said the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila of P404 is just 41 percent of the estimated average family living wage (FLW) of P988. The FLW is defined as the minimum amount needed for a family of six members to meet their daily food and non-food needs plus a 10-percent allocation for savings. IBON said the latest FLW estimates are based on the 2008 FLW data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission of the DOLE. Last April 14, labor officials assured workers and employers it will take their welfare into account in making their decision in adjusting wages in Metro Manila. [See story: Labor execs try to strike win-win deal] National Wages and Productivity Commission executive director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said the Metro Manila regional wage board will invite representatives from all stakeholders to the public hearings. Lagunzad said the first public hearing will be scheduled 15 days after the publication of the notice, or end-April at the earliest. Earlier, the DOLE cited “supervening conditions" that may merit a wage hike before a one-year ban on imposing a wage hike lapses in July. The law prevents more than one wage hike in a span of one year. The last wage hike in Metro Manila was in July last year. Lagunzad also noted inflation had gone above five percent – exceeding the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ target of three to five percent for this year – in six regions. — LBG, GMA News