SUMALAG, Arlene Joy K.

JD 2

On Laborem Exercens(Through Work): A Reflection Paper

Truth that which you seek, which I cannot give you is how we look at
things, what we believe. Do not talk about injustice or wrongs. There is
always an element of injustice in this world, and many wrongs are
committed in the jungle. We all live in a kind of bondage until we die. F.
Sionil Jose in Don Vicente.
Capital and Labor are the two points circled around in this account. It
pictured capital as the one in power and labor as a follower. The State and
the Church were also included. The State has the duty to regulate rights and
obligations between capital and labor while the Church addresses the moral
issues surrounding this arrangement.
Laborem Exercens was written in 1981. According to.
At present the principles embodied in this account are still resounding in an
employment relationship. In our country, this attacks tenancy which is
rampant in the lowlands. There is an inherent injustice as seen in the
arrangement of land owners and their farmers. In the case of Hacienda
Luisita Inc. (HLI) v. Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC),
et al., G.R. No.171101, July 5, 2011, it was revealed that the wages given to the
farmers cannot sustain a human life and the work load was for a carabao. The State intervened
by enacting laws and deciding the case in favor of the workers. The Churchs morals were
pursued in the campaign land for the landless in order to show that there is pity in their
circumstances and justice in their situation. Furthermore, it showed the interdependence of the
State, the capital and the labor. However, the welfare of the labor force was not totally upheld
because the interests of the capital weighs more than their lives since the latter dictate the
economy of this nation. The execution of the judgment proved this. The lands were delivered in
the pace of a walking turtle. The justice achieved by the farmers was even inherited by their
descendants.
What did the case of Hacienda Luisita reveal? It presented to each and every Filipino that
justice has a bittersweet taste. The reality is financial interests outweigh the value of life
especially when the money is in front of a person already.
Laborem Exercens, which was written by Pope John Paul II indeed showed what is ideal
based on the teachings of the Bible. To follow it by the word is like a fish swimming against the
current. It is laborious but doable. It gives meaning to what we call life because only dead fish go
with the current.
People
Each of us has a part in the society we live in. It is like a movie, where
the characters are varied as to what roles are played. Each character has a
label- the protagonist, the antagonist and the supporting characters. There is

no hierarchy as to the importance of each actor because every one of them

is essential in the portrayal of the story. This is also the same in the system
of labor. The capital and the labor are two interdependent characters in
sustaining an economy. One will cease to exist without the other.