Senate agreed to limit holiday bills —Escudero

The Senate has agreed to limit the approval of bills on local holidays as lawmakers want the country to become "more competitive," Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero said.

"'Yung holiday, nagkasundo ang Senado na limitahan ang mga holiday. Mahigit isang buwan na ang holiday sa buong bansa which makes Philippine companies and workers less competitive," Escudero said in a press briefing.

(The Senate has agreed to limit the holidays. All in all, the holidays in our country will make up a month which makes Philippine companies and workers less competitive.)

He noted that there are local holidays in every city, municipality, and province on top of the national holidays and religion-related holidays.

Escudero cited as an example the holidays in the United States where they commemorate all their heroes or their presidents for only one day.

"Meron silang Presidents’ Day, lahat ng magagaling nilang presidente pinagsama-sama nila sa iisang araw na lang na holiday. Tayo hindi. May Araw ng Kagitingan, National Heroes' Day, bawat bayani pag pinatay sila may holiday na naman, 'di ba?" he remarked.

(The United States has the Presidents' Day where they commemorate all their great presidents for only a day. In the Philippines, we honor our heroes on several occasions-- the Day of Valor, National Heroes' Day, among others. We declare a holiday on days where each hero was killed.)

Escudero said he has already asked for a study on the holiday format in the US, but he noted that this might cause division among the senators.

"Ang problema lang away 'yan eh. Pero hindi naman kailangang gawin yan ngayon, simulan lang natin ang proseso," he said.

(The problem is that it might cause a divide among us. But that does not need to be done right now. What is important is that we have already started the process.)

DOLE

For Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, there is a “plus and minus” on the limiting of local holidays.

“Alam naman natin na talagang kung ang holiday ay napakarami, naapektuhan ang productivity. On the other hand, ‘yung mga gustong magsipasok nakikinabang sa dagdag na insentibo dahil nagtrabaho sila ng holiday,” said Laguesma at a press conference.

(Holidays hamper productivity but workers also gain from its incentives.)

“May plus and minus na makikita. Alam namin nakakapag-adjust ang mga negosyante,” he said.

(There is a plus and minus to this. We know employers can adjust.)

Meanwhile, labor group NAGKAISA opposed the proposal, saying holidays provide workers with “much-needed respite from the daily grind.”

The organization also called on Congress to focus on addressing other pressing issues including the traffic woes in Metro Manila, and job "insecurity" in the country.  

“Sa halip na pagtuunan ng pansin ang pagbabawas ng holidays, sana ay isaalang-alang ng ating mga senador at representante sa Kongreso ang kagat sa sikmura at nararamdaman ng mga manggagawa. Dapat nilang tutukan ang mga tunay na isyu tulad ng pagtulak at pagpapabilis ng ?150 national wage recovery at diskriminasyon sa pasahod para tugunan ang mga poverty wages,” said Chairperson Sonny Matula.

(Instead on reducing holidays, lawmakers should focus on issues including the expediting of the P150 national wage recovery and wage discrimination.)

“Bukod dito, ang isyu ng kontraktwalisasyon ay isa ring napakalaking sanhi ng stress,” Matula said. “These are the issues that truly affect the day-to-day lives of Filipino workers and need immediate attention”.

(Contratualization is also a big source of stress from workers.) —VAL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News