DAVAO CITY, Philippines — To emphasize and dramatize yesterday’s Labor Day, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the Executive Order banning illegal contracting or subcontracting in the country, before the leaders from different labor groups in Cebu City.
Duterte made this announcement in a speech delivered in Cebu City saying he wanted to stick to his campaign promise to end contractualization and give Filipinos a “decent and comfortable life.”
“I hope that with all that I can do legally, there could be an impact on your complaint that is non-security of tenure,” Duterte stressed.
“I remain firm in my commitment to put an end to “ENDO” and illegal contractualization. However, I believe that in order to implement an effective and lasting solution to the problems brought about by contractualization, Congress needs to enact a law amending the Labor Code,” Duterte said.
Duterte claimed, he never hinted that that he will sign the EO yesterday because he want to make the laborers day more meaningful
But the militant labor groups said the EO is not enough, they want the complete end of contractualization.
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Sentro and several groups who held a nationally-coordinated rally said the EO should have included the provision that would end contractualization.
Renato Magtubo, president of Nagkaisa, said the EO should have included the provisions they wrote under the fifth draft that they submitted to the national government, where employment relations are set as direct hiring.
In Davao City, militant groups even criticized Duterte for signing an EO only, as they want him to totally end contractualization, saying the EO only specifies illegal labor contracting.
They burned Duterte’s effigy and accused him of being a puppet of the imperialist United Stated.
In Iligan City, over a thousand employees from different private companies, industries, government agencies and some progressive groups joined the march rally to celebrate the Labor Day.
The placard-bearing workers marched the streets and call on the Duterte administration to end contractualization.
The celebration here was organized by the Federation of Democratic Labor Organization (FDLO) – Iligan City chapter.
The FDLO has also expressed opposition on the Tax Reform Measure for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN LAW, which the government implemented starting January this year.
Duterte in his speech however stressed “The country’s labor laws must be repealed or amended to make it attuned to the needs of time.
He denied being a puppet of the Unites States “Hindi ako naging tuta ng US, ako hindi nila ako madiktahan (I’d never been a puppet of the US, me? they cannot dictate me).”
Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod, who once chaired the Kilusang Mayo Uno in Davao City, said the EO signed would serve as a guide of Congress in drafting a bill that will revise the labor laws, noting it was the version of the President and not by the employers.
“More than a century has passed since the very first Labor Day was celebrated and yet the struggle for a better life for our beloved worker continues. I assure you that this government will never cease in its effort to provide every Filipino worker with full, dignified, and meaningful employment,” he added.
Duterte, however, pointed out that Congress also needs to do its part to amend the existing Labor Code which he described as “outdated.”
“I remain firm in my commitment to put an end to “ENDO” and illegal contractualization. However, I believe that in order to implement an effective and lasting solution to the problems brought about by contractualization, Congress needs to enact a law amending the Labor Code,” Duterte said.
The president said although an executive order could help “alleviate” the problems, it is still the Congress that needs to do the work.
In the same speech, Duterte emphasized “A mere executive order can only do so much because you have to change or modify or entirely aggregate some of the provisions.”
“I have certified as urgent [the passage] of the bill on security of tenure to once and for all address the issue and provide long-term solutions that would further strengthen the workers’ right to security of tenure,” the President added.-ezc, Divina M. Suson with reports from PNA
