MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello is willing to listen to the worker’s demand to draft a fresh Department Order (D.O) that will more adequately address the contractualization concern in the country.

This happened after Bello met with the leaders of NAGKAISA (UNITED), this Thursday (05 January) morning.

NAGKAISA is the broadest coalition of labor groups in the Philippines, and composed of labor centers, federations, and national unions.

The labor group has also been a relentless critic of the present administration, fighting to ensure that the promise of the President to eliminate the end of contracts “ENDO” would be fulfilled during his tenure.

In the meeting, Secretary Bello clarified that there is no DO yet! A draft DO will be issued on January 13-14 and it will be presented to labor unions for comments. It will thereafter be deliberated in the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC). Once it is approved, it will be issued as DO-1, series of 2017.

Danny Edralin, spokesperson of NAGKAISA said that the draft DO that apparently circulated last month (December 2016) is merely an attempt to amend DO-18. He said such an approach is doomed to fail. 

Edralin pointed out that the Labor Code allows the secretary to prohibit contracting under Article 106, and that all previous Labor Secretaries attempts to improve on DO-18 have failed. Thus, total prohibition is the only solution.

“We urge Secretary Bello to facilitate a dialogue with the President and we will ask him to issue an Executive Order and certify House Bill 4444  or the “MENDOZA WORKERS BILL” authored by Rep. Raymond Mendoza, TUCP Partylist. The bill aims to strengthen the security of tenure,” Edralin added. CPM