Adyenda ng Paggawa (Labor Agenda) sa Pagtatatag ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN): Kontekstwalisasyon ng Ilang Pahina ng “Kapaki-pakinabang na Kasaysayan” Tungo sa Mga Adbokasing Maka-Manggagawa sa Siglo 21

Abstract

In traditional books on Philippine history, especially commercial textbooks,
there is often little mention of workers and labor movements, as well as the
labor agenda in listing them as significant markers of each “era.” Consequently, it is not surprising that historical studies in many schools tend to focus on a state-centric discourse, relegating labor to the background or, at best, a historical footnote (if there is any). In response to this trend, this paper serves as an initial contribution aimed at describing, contextualizing, and popularizing the labor agenda through an examination of related documents from the founding documents of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan/New Patriotic Alliance (BAYAN). In general, this paper is guided by the lens of people’s history. Thus, documents from social movements rooted in “voices from below” are considered part of the so-called “usable past,” a history that helps in understanding the present. This paper aims to answer the following specific questions: 1) How was the labor agenda highlighted in BAYAN’s founding documents?: 2) How has the labor agenda evolved or remained the same from then until now?; 3) Why is the labor agenda, as emphasized in selected historical documents from the mentioned social movements, still relevant today, and how can it be promoted in the 21st Century?