Duterte vows to create more jobs

Job seekers gather at Quezon City Hall grounds during the Lador Day Job and Business Fair. INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

President Duterte on Monday, Labor Day, said his administration would create “thousands of jobs” and gave assurance that it would tap Filipino skills for the development of the Philippine economy.

Mr. Duterte also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protect workers’ rights and welfare.

He vowed to fulfill his campaign promise of putting an end to contractualization, although saying this would take time.

“Workers play a significant role in pushing for the rights to humane conditions at work, basic wages and organized acts, including collective bargaining and unionism. The government recognizes these basic rights of workers in all industries, and we are committed to protect and defend these rights,” Mr. Duterte said in his Labor Day statement.

The President said his administration would create thousands of jobs and “tap the skills, experience and expertise of our own people.”

“Everyone who contributes labor as part of his commitment to nation-building deserves nothing less than a share of the fruits of his hard work,” he said.

Rights protection

Vice President Leni Robredo also issued a statement saying it was the diligence and sacrifice of the workers that built the country’s economy.

“More than just expressing our gratitude to them, we should intensity our efforts to protect their rights and welfare,” Robredo said in Filipino.

She emphasized that International Workers’ Day is also a time when leaders should revisit and study the reforms that aim to strengthen workers’ rights.

This includes putting a stop the end-of-contract (endo) practice of many businesses and “making sure that companies do not abuse” contractualization, she said.

Endo refers to the hiring of workers for five months on contract, which is terminated at the end of that period to avoid hiring them permanently as required by law.

End to endo

Speaking to members of at least 50 labor groups and trade unions in Davao City on Monday afternoon, Mr. Duterte pleaded for time to end contractualization.

“I stand firm in my conviction to end endo,” Mr. Duterte said, referring to his campaign promise to workers.

The President said he intended to issue an executive order against endo and “labor only contracting.”

He admitted, however, that ending contractualization could not be done immediately, as it would take time for all, especially the investors, to make the necessary adjustments.

“They have to make the corrections. They are still in the process of doing it,” he said.

Mr. Duterte also reaffirmed his directive to the Department of Labor and Employment to ensure full and decent employment for Filipino workers.

Labor inspections

He said he would deputize trade unions for inspections of employers’ compliance with labor laws.

“When you make the report tell me the truth,” he said, adding that his future actions would be based on these reports.

Mr. Duterte also noted a drop in the unemployment rate in the country, which he attributed to the increase on inflow of investments.

He said his trips to China and the Middle East helped improve the labor situation in the country.

China has started importing banana and pineapple from the Philippines, he said.

Apart from the increase in its imports, Mr. Duterte said China also promised two free bridge projects for the Philippines.

The President slammed companies using government land but skirting their tax obligations.

“If you will not give the lands back to the government, I will ask the Filipino people to occupy the lands that are in your hands,” he said.

He said the people could choose properties in the cities of Makati and Pasay to occupy, and that he was giving the companies three months to comply with their tax obligations.

Mr. Duterte said he was not offended by the action of the urban poor group Kadamay, which occupied government housing projects in Bulacan province.

He said he understood how Kadamay members felt, because his family’s house in Davao City was demolished in 1949.

Joblessness down

Meanwhile, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showing adult joblessness at 22.9 percent in March, below the 25.1 percent in December last year, was “an affirmation of the significant strides of the Duterte administration in sustaining the country’s robust economic growth and making it inclusive.”

Abella said the government’s massive infrastructure program was expected to employ “millions of Filipinos in the next five years and spur economic activities by stimulating countryside development.”