Senate President Vicente Sotto III. INQUIRER.net file photo / Neil Arwin Mercado
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said he was “crestfallen” or disappointed over President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to veto the Security of Tenure bill.
Malacañang confirmed Friday that the measure had been vetoed by the President.
READ: It’s official: Duterte vetoes Security of Tenure bill
“I am crestfallen but that’s how democracy works. And Congress being dynamic, can refile and repass the bill,” Sotto said in a text message to reporters.
The Senate leader, in a separate text message, said they would refile and prioritize the measure in the 18th Congress.
“We’ll find an acceptable version,” he further said.
The bill, if passed into law, could have ended the practice of labor contracting scheme in the country.
But a coalition of business groups urged Duterte to veto the bill for being redundant, citing laws that protect workers from illegal contractualization.
“While the bill mostly codifies into law existing rules, regulations, orders and jurisprudence on matters of labor-only contracting and security of tenure, it likewise unduly broadens the scope and definition of prohibited labor-only contracting, effectively prescribing forms of contractualization that are not particularly unfavorable to the employees involved,” Duterte said in his veto message obtained by INQUIRER.net.
“Indeed, while labor-only contracting must be prohibited, legitimate job-contracting should be allowed, provided that the contractor is well capitalized, has sufficient investments, and affords its employees all the benefits provided for under the labor laws,” the President added. /jpv
READ: Duterte vetoes security of tenure bill