Villanueva admits being unhappy with Duterte veto of Security of Tenure bill

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Joel Villanueva admitted on Monday that he is not happy with the President Duterte’s veto of the Security of Tenure bill.

“Masama ang loob ko sa buong administrasyon, hindi ko naman po tinatago ‘yun,” Villanueva told reporters in an interview.

“Siguro naman, kahit sino po sa atin ‘yung lumagay sa posisyon ko, mai-intindihan kung ano po ‘yung nararamdaman po natin,” he added.

He said he would like to know what certain provisions of the bill that were deemed unacceptable by certain members of the Duterte administration.

“We were never consulted. We were never asked. Ano ba masasabi mo dito? Totoo ba na ito ‘yung saloobin ng batas?” the senator said.

Villanueva said that the Senate seems to have been “misled” when the President earlier certified the measure as urgent only to be vetoed later on.

“Somehow it appears that we were misled and we were, the least to say is, nagamit doon sa proseso,” he said.

“Pinuna po nating husto ‘yun at ginawa natin ‘yung pinaghirapan nating batas. Again kung sasabihin ko pong hindi ako nagtatampo at walang sama ng loob, I’ll be a hypocrite,” the senator added.

The Security of Tenure bill, which aims to protect workers’ rights by removing the ambiguities in laws that prohibit labor-only contracting, was vetoed by the President days before it was set to lapse into law last month.

READ: It’s official: Duterte vetoes Security of Tenure bill

Villanueva has refiled “exactly the same measure that was certified as priority and urgent measure by the President” at the Senate.

READ: After Duterte veto, Villanueva refiles Security of Tenure bill

The senator said he is ready to receive the ire of the President over his remarks.

“When you signed up for this kind of work, you don’t really think about what other people would say whoever he or she is. Life just goes on, we just do our job,” he said.