Tangke is a traditional fishing village near Cebu City. The fishers earn their living catching crabs. At dawn, they return from the sea and begin clearing crabs from their nets. They must hurry to sell their catch to middlemen, who then supply market vendors. At the bottom of the value chain, the fishers live on the edge of poverty. To supplement their income, they drive motorcycle taxis, do laundry, or run small kiosks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their livelihood is under threat from many directions. The expansion of a container terminal and construction of an oil depot risk destroying crab stocks and restricting access to fishing grounds. The fishersfolk\u2019s union, together with Sentro, the national trade union center, has worked to make its voice heard and halt the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 All construction projects require an environmental permit, and we managed to overturn the permit for offshore construction of the oil terminal. The construction of the oil depot on land, however, may continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commercial vessels also worsen the fishers\u2019 situation when they illegally enter coastal waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Commercial vessels are supposed to stay 50 kilometers away from what are called municipal waters, says Branzuela, who is studying law on a scholarship from Sentro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February, traditional and commercial fishers plan to establish a joint federation. The initiative is backed by Sentro, which aims to unite the fragmented Filipino labor movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Building collective strength is the only way to increase bargaining power, emphasizes Sentro coordinator Rodel Abenoja<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tangke\u2019s crab fishers return from the sea at dawn. The catch is usually 3\u20134 kilos, but it varies depending on sea conditions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaijai Amboon<\/strong> is Sentro\u2019s organizer in Cebu City, responsible for the food and beverage sector. The work is full of challenges. The Philippines remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for trade union activists. Harassment, violence, and even death threats are real risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Especially during former President Duterte\u2019s term, demonization and red-tagging of the labor movement became more common, says Abenoja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amboon has focused his work on the Mandaue industrial area, home to many major food and beverage factories such as Coca-Cola, meat processors Belcris Food and Virginia, and noodle manufacturer Monde Nissin. His strategy differs from the workplace-centered organizing common in Finland; he works with employees in the communities where they live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 First, we map out where a factory\u2019s employees live. Then we start building connections within the community and identifying key people. At the outset, we don\u2019t talk directly about union matters; instead, we approach the conversation through local concerns such as community issues, human rights, or climate change, Amboon explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Because workers usually live in employer-provided dormitories, it\u2019s not uncommon for employers to relocate them as soon as they hear about our organizing efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The independent union of Coca-Cola drivers won the union elections in Mandaue against an employer-backed yellow union.<\/em> \u2013 The water began to rise rapidly at around two in the morning. In just a couple of hours, it reached three meters, leaving Coca-Cola\u2019s Consolacion logistics center completely submerged, says Roger Rivera, president of the Coca-Cola drivers\u2019 union, describing the typhoon\u2019s impact on Cebu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three days later, the logistics center remains closed, but Coca-Cola\u2019s bottling plant in Mandaue escaped major damage and has continued production uninterrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coca-Cola Company is known worldwide for aggressively suppressing union activity. In the Philippines, this takes the form of a divide-and-rule tactic. Production, sales, and logistics workers each have their own unions. Workers are also divided into daily-paid and monthly-paid, as well as permanent and contract employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another employer tactic is the creation of yellow unions \u2013 organizations that appear to represent workers but lack real bargaining power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The independent union led by Rivera recently defeated such a yellow union in labor elections. In the Philippines, a union must receive more than half of workers\u2019 votes to gain official bargaining status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The union has a long list of goals for improving drivers\u2019 wages and conditions. Its first priority is countering the employer\u2019s divide-and-rule approach by uniting all drivers in Central and Eastern Visayas under one union and one collective agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rivera highlights job security as on of the most important issues. Drivers work on temporary contracts despite serving Coca-Cola continuously. The gap between temporary and permanent workers is large \u2013 especially in pay. Drivers are compensated based on the number of loads and pallets handled, with no guaranteed wage or waiting-time pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 At Coca-Cola facilities elsewhere in the Philippines, we have succeeded in negotiating contract workers into permanent positions. That is our goal here as well, explains Abenoja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, drivers earn roughly the regulated minimum wage. According to WageIndicator, Cebu\u2019s minimum wage covers only about 65 percent of basic living costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With 35 percent missing, many drivers are forced to seek additional income by driving motorcycle taxis or working for ride-hailing services, and by turning to consumer loans. Debt is a growing concern. Loans are offered not only by banks and payday lenders but also by companies to their own workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Healthcare is another dividing line. Permanent employees receive full health insurance, while contract workers receive a lump-sum allowance that covers only part of their medical costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 I had to undergo back surgery, and the lump-sum reimbursement covered only a quarter of the costs. I had to borrow the remaining amount from the employer,\u201d says Doroteo Enijada<\/strong>, a union board member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The loan equals roughly two years of his income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rodel Abenoja brings greetings from Sentro to its member union. The membership includes both men and women, as many work as fishing couples.<\/em> On Friday evening, a group of about twenty people gathers to protest at Fuente Osme\u00f1a Circle in Cebu City. They are part of a broad civic movement known as the \u201ctrillion-peso march\u201d. Today\u2019s group is small, as residents continue recovering from the typhoon and preparing for the arrival of another super typhoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Philippines is currently shaken by a massive corruption scandal involving the misuse of flood-control funds worth tens of billions of euros. Corruption is not new in the country, but the scale this time is unprecedented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the revelations, funds were funneled via ghost projects directly to politicians and favored contractors, while the projects themselves were never completed or never even begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has established an independent investigative commission, but citizens are furious and demanding action \u2013 accountability for those responsible and greater transparency in public spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The movement, in which Sentro is actively involved, plans to mobilize major demonstrations on November 30, 2025, the holiday honoring national hero Andr\u00e9s Bonifacio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.selry.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/filippiinit-tangke-tanja-harjuniemi.jpg\")
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Grassroots organizing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.selry.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/filippiinit-coca-cola-tanja-harjuniemi.jpg\")
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Coca-Cola divides and conquers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.selry.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/filippiinit-matapa-tanja-harjuniemi.jpg\")
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The trillion-peso march<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n