Cebu business groups welcome Duterte ‘endo’ order

– CEBU CITY The business community in Cebu has welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) banning all forms of illegal job contracting and subcontracting and said it is supporting the government’s efforts to protect the welfare and rights of the workers.

“The CCCI (Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry) supports the EO that PRRD signed yesterday (Tuesday) against illegal contractualization and ‘endo’ because it is consistent with the Labor Code passed by Congress,” CCCI president Antonio Chiu said.

While it allows certain jobs to be contracted out, Chiu said the EO protects the rights of workers for just benefits and compensation as well as security of tenure. “The rule of law should always prevail so that we could continue to attract foreign investments and create more jobs,” Chiu said.

The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) also welcomed the EO, saying the business community must look after the welfare of its workers.

“A harmonious and progressive relationship between management and labor is a step towards business prosperity and economic growth,” said MCCI vice president Steven Yu. “The business community welcomes this development and seeks to be a partner with government in nation building.”

Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph, for his part, said the EO is a welcome development as “business needs to practice fair labor practices.” “Our practices should (also) reward high productivity. But our laws make it extremely difficult to penalize inefficient workers and this must be corrected,” Joseph added.

President Duterte signed the EO imposing a complete ban on illegal contractualization during the 116th Labor Day celebration at the IC3 Convention Center here in Cebu. However, Duterte said his EO is not enough and Congress needs to amend the Labor Code in order to implement an effective and lasting solution to the problems brought about by contractualization.

The EO ending the practice of “endo” drew mixed reactions from labor and cause-oriented groups on Monday.

Jime Paglinawan, chairman of Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-kilusang Mayo Uno (Ama Sugbo-kmu) and Bayan-central Visayas, said they welcomed Duterte’s EO as initial victory for the workers, while the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) claimed the EO was for the employers’ benefit and not for workers.

Associated Labor Unions-trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) spokesperson Alan Tanjusay also expressed disappointment, saying the EO did not actually ended “endo” but strengthened the regulation.

Tanjusay’s fellow ALU-TUCP member Art Barrit, however, said President Duterte finally fulfilled his campaign promise to end contractualization and he was glad about it.