LABOR DAY RALLY. About 2,000 rallyists gather in front of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol on Labor Day (May 2, 2018) calling for a law to end contractualization. (Photo by Cindy Ferrer)
ILOILO CITY -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signing of an executive order (EO) that prohibits illegal contracting and subcontracting may be good news for a militant group here but said a law from Congress that will end contractualization (endo) is what they want.
About 2,000 protesters and members of militant groups in this city gathered on Tuesday calling for “endo”.
Reylan Vergara, Deputy Secretary General of BAYAN Panay, as well as Secretary General of the Panay Alliance Karapatan, said in an interview that they still have to acquire a copy of the EO and review it before they make any further comment.
“Despite the good news on the signing of the executive order, we are still pushing that it will be passed in the Congress and Senate to end this contractualization so that even if the term of President Duterte will end, there is a law that assures the protection of our workers,” he said.
Vergara said that with a law against contractualization, its implementing rules and regulations would be the basis for workers to “tell that they are not contractual.”
He added that it will also clearly spell out a company’s obligations to its workers.
Duterte earlier announced in Cebu City that he has signed the EO banning illegal contracting or subcontracting.
Rallyists here gathered at the grounds of the Iloilo Capitol at about 1:30 p.m.
Some groups marched from the campus of University of the Philippines in the Visayas going to the venue. They were composed of workers from various companies, government workers, students, as well as farmers.
Aside from pushing for contractualization, they sought for the PHP750 minimum wage hike and assistance for some 36,000 displaced formal and informal workers due to the closure of Boracay Island.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas) has deployed a total of 1,595 personnel to secure designated areas where mass actions or protests were held across the region.
Joem Malong, spokesperson of PRO-6, said they have intensified police operations and the implementation of well-planned and coordinated security measures, particularly in areas where demonstrations, rallies, mass and protest actions were expected to be conducted.
“With over 1,500 personnel deployed region-wide, PRO-6 assures safety and security of everyone joining the celebration,” he said.
“Aside from the usual law enforcement activities such as police visibility and law enforcement functions, we are also implementing security measures such as target hardening and border control measures,” she added.
Police officers were also reminded to strictly adhere to the revised police operational procedures and to respect human rights at all cost through maximum tolerance, Malong said. (PNA)
