Vice Presidential Senator Vicente Sotto III during a town hall meeting in Argao, Cebu on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Photo from Lacson-Sotto media bureau
ARGAO, Cebu — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday took a swipe at a 2016 campaign promise to end labor contractualization since it remains unfulfilled to this day, especially after the security of tenure bill was vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Yun pong isang pangako nung nakaraang eleksyon 2016, ‘di ba amg pinangako sa inyo ‘yun daw endo. ‘Di ba pinangako ‘yan eh ‘yung contractualization, endo, aalisin na raw ‘di ba? Anong ginawa ng Senado? Ipinasa namin,” Sotto told the audience in a townhall meeting here.
He made this remark in response to a barangay health worker who raised concerns about the security of tenure among medical frontliners at the barangay level.
“Ipinasa namin ‘yang contractualization, si Senator Joel Villanueva sponsor namin, ipinasa namin. Ano ang nangyari? Vineto ng Presidente. Ano ‘yung vineto? Ayaw pirmahan, ibinalik sa amin,” Sotto continued.
The proposed legislation aims to protect workers’ rights by removing the ambiguities in laws that prohibit labor-only contracting.
But in 2019, Duterte vetoed the security of tenure bill, a move criticized by labor groups.
READ: Duterte promise to end ‘endo’ a ‘farce’ – labor groups
In his veto message, the President assured that his commitment to protect workers remains firm despite turning down the “anti-endo” measure.
Duterte also stressed that “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.”
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