Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello II at a news briefing, November 5, 2018 INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Labor stakeholders have expressed opposition to the proposal of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to require police clearances for various labor-related transactions, Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.
Bello said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has been consulting with stakeholders regarding the proposal of PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas, who earlier wrote to DOLE to suggest the additional transaction requirement.
The Labor Secretary said most of the stakeholders that were consulted by DOLE have expressed “negative” responses to the proposal of Sinas.
“Mukhang negative pa pero tinitingnan pa natin ang final reply natin kay Gen. Sinas. Malalaman din niya anytime now. We will be sending communication to him on our response to his request for clearances,” Bello said in an online media forum.
(It seems the proposal has garnered negative responses but we are still finalizing our reply to Gen. Sinas. He will know it anytime now.)
Bello said the DOLE might be able to finalize its response to the PNP chief by next week.
According to Bello, some have pointed out that the proposal of Sinas contradicts the objective of the Anti-Red Tape Act, which also aims to ensure the ease of doing business in the country.
Senator Joel Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, earlier slammed the proposal of Sinas and called the process of presenting police clearance for DOLE transactions unnecessary.