By Ferdinand Patinio/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday said it is hoping to prepare a new version of the security of tenure (SOT) bill before next week’s Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting.
“I understand there is a LEDAC on Monday (Aug. 5). So probably we would to have a new version or formulation for Monday so we could present it to the LEDAC,” DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a press conference.
Bello said Duterte has instructed them to revisit the measure which the President vetoed, citing the need to balance the interest of businesses and workers.
“We have to revisit the entire provision and come up with a more clear and more focused provision to provide security of tenure to our workers,” Bello said.
Bello, meanwhile, shared that Duterte was surprised over the negative reactions on his decision to veto the SOT bill which aims to end contractualization.
“I have a very long speaking engagement with the president last Friday. He was surprised why there were negative reactions to his decision to veto the SOT bill because from his assessment and probably inputs from his legal advisers, he thought that this was in keeping with his commitment to secure the tenure of the workers,” he said.
Bello assured that the new version of the bill “will keep the balance between the security of tenure and the viability of employers.”
Ending labor contracting scheme was the promise of Duterte in 2016 during his presidential campaign.
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