“We call on the Filipino people, be vigilant. Uphold basic human rights for all.” 

One critic said certifying the bill as urgent is an “abuse of the presidential power to circumvent the constitutional requirements” in passing a law.

The union has described the lay-offs as a “gross violation” of their Collective Bargaining Agreement, and “a clear-cut case of union busting.”

“It is a travesty of justice that pork barrel mastermind Janet Napoles has been acquitted along with her cohorts who are now sitting senators, but no political prisoner whose cases are made up has been included in any of the trumpeted mass releases of elderly PDLs since the start of the pandemic in 2020.”

A farmers group expressed its apprehension over the bill as the HOR rejected a ban on the conversion of agricultural lands devoted to food. Mariano, a former agrarian reform secretary, said that “ensuring land use for food production is a paramount duty and obligation of the State.”