Duterte vetoes anti-endo bill

President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed the Security of Tenure bill, his spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Friday.

Panelo confirmed to reporters that the President rejected the bill passed before 17th Congress closed in June.

“Security Tenure Bill vetoed by the President,” the Palace official said, but did not say why Duterte vetoed the proposed measure.

Panelo said on Thursday the President was still studying the proposal.

The proposed measure was meant to eliminate subcontracting of labor and limit job contracting to licensed and specialized services.

It aims to classify workers into regular and probationary employees and treat project and seasonal employees as regular employees.

Several business groups had been urging Duterte to veto the bill, claiming that signing it into law could lead to job losses and affect the economy.

Socieoeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia on Wednesday voiced his reservations regarding the measure and underscored the need to strike a balance between the concerns of workers and businesses.

Ending unjust contractualization was a campaign promise of Duterte when he ran for the presidency in 2016.

ECOP welcomes veto

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), meanwhile, cheered the veto, saying the bill, if passed, "will only lead to loss of jobs and investments."

Reached by GMA News Online, ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said now that the bill is vetoed, they will police its own ranks to "ensure that endo is ended in the entire country."

"We, the ECOP, will see to it that in our own ranks the practice of endo is ended," he said. "The only problem is implementation because there are already enough laws against illegal labor practices."

Hope in 18th Congress?

Senators, meanwhile, expressed disappointment over the veto, with Senate President Vicente Sotto III saying the Senate will again push for the approval of a similar bill in the 18th Congress.

"We will refile and prioritize [it]," Sotto said in a text message to GMA News Online, adding they will "find an acceptable version."

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also said he was saddened with the President’s decision.  —with Ted Cordero and Amita Legaspi/VDS/KBK, GMA News