Anti-‘endo’ bill not a Duterte priority, Palace says

The anti-”endo” bill, a measure that seeks to end contractualization, is not among President Duterte’s priority measures for now, according to Undersecretary Jacinto Paras of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.

Mr. Duterte vetoed in 2019 the security of tenure bill that would have protected workers from unfair labor contracting practices, saying the measure also banned forms of contractualization that were not unfavorable to employees.

Paras said that after the President’s veto, sectors had not been voicing out their opinions on the issue.

“So it is not much of a priority now,” he said at a Palace press briefing.

He said Mr. Duterte had rejected the bill earlier “because it was not able to resolve the conflict between the labor and the management.”

“Maybe in due time, I think. That’s still an important proposed legislation,” he added.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said earlier this week that he believed the President would approve the security of tenure bill before his term ends.

Campaign promise

While campaigning for the presidency, Mr. Duterte vowed to end endo (end of contract) or the practice of hiring workers for short terms to circumvent regulations and prevent them from becoming regular employees who enjoy more benefits.

Paras said the President’s top priority measure was the bill to create the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers.

Mr. Duterte also wants Congress to resolve the issue over the extension of the transition period for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, he said.

Other priorities are the measure that would reform the pension for uniformed personnel, the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Tax Reform bill, and the amendments to the Public Service Act and the Foreign Investments Act.