DOLE draft of SOT bill already in Medialdea’s hands – Bello

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) proposed draft of a bill seeking to end illegal labor contractualization is now in the hands of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier tasked Bello to revisit and craft a clearer version of the Security of Tenure (SOT) he vetoed in July 2019.

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“Before we drafted our version of the SOT bill, we consulted stakeholders, workers, and employers. After that, we were able to finalize the draft SOT bill,” Bello, speaking partly in Filipino, said in an interview with AM radio station DZBB on Sunday.

Labor groups were also consulted in the crafting of the draft, Bello noted.

“The President’s instruction was that I coordinate with Executive Secretary Medialdea. That’s why when we finished the draft, I submitted it. It’s already in the hands of Secretary Medialdea,” he added.

Bello said he submitted the proposed draft to Medialdea about a month ago.

The draft may be submitted to Congress once session resumes, he added.

The labor chief, however, opted not to divulge further details of the draft.

“I don’t want to preempt Secretary Medialdea regarding our final draft bill on SOT,” he said. “It’s in his hands now. Whether he will adopt it, or make some modification, it’s already with him).

The SOT bill seeks to stop the labor contracting scheme, which Duterte, during his presidential campaign in 2016, promised to end.

In his veto message last July, the President stressed that, “while labor-only contracting should be prohibited, legitimate job-contracting should be allowed” provided that the contractor was “well-capitalized, has sufficient investments, and affords its employees all the benefits.”

READ: It’s official: Duterte vetoes Security of Tenure bill

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“About the LOC [labor-only contracting], that was a bit of an issue. What we are focusing on now, even though security of tenure is a constitutional right, we feel that employment is more important. We’re focusing on the creation of job opportunities because what our workers need are jobs,” Bello went on.

“Of course, we’re here to watch over our workers,” he added.

/atm