Marcos to revisit anti-endo bill if elected president

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 21) — Presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has said he will take another thorough look at the Security of Tenure Bill, otherwise known as "anti-endo" bill, if he is elected president.

Marcos, in a taped interview by One News and GoNegosyo, discussed President Rodrigo Duterte's refusal to sign what was supposed to be a landmark law to end exploitative forms of contractualization.

Duterte in 2019 rejected the anti-endo bill because of the Congress' "sweeping expansion of the definition of labor-only contracting," which he argued comes at the expense of employers.

Marcos agreed with Duterte's reasons, saying some jobs are meant to be seasonal.

"Kung sakali man makaupo ako, titingnan natin para ayusin natin, para tama nga naman na it applies only to those businesses that are not seasonal. We have to adjust to reality," he argued.

[Translation: If I win, we will look at it and fix it. It's right that it should only apply to businesses that are not seasonal.]

"End of contract" or "endo" is a highly contested form of contractualization widely practiced in the country.

Under the scheme, workers are hired for not more than five months, so employers don't need to regularize them on the sixth month as mandated by the Labor Code. This corporate practice apparently strips millions of workers of benefits granted by law to regular employees.

Marcos, who has secured the endorsement of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), stressed for the protection of laborers nationwide.

"Bigay natin ang safety na kapag hindi seasonal ang trabaho, may security ang ating mga empleyado at nakukuha nila ang kanilang benepisyo," he explained in the interview.

[Translation: If they are not seasonal workers, let us give them the safety net, the security to get their benefits.]