The Senate last week started its hearings on the contentious issue of “endo.” As any one desperate to find employment knows, this is the onerous practice of business companies to get around the labor law of granting workers benefits. By terminating workers’ contract in five months, the greedy companies are able to skip paying their employees separation pay, remitting their share to the Social Security System and the releasing the prescribed 13th month pay. Hence “endo”—short for end of contract—the new word in the constantly evolving Filipino language.
This practice is pervasive in the service sector, department stores, construction companies and even in some government agencies who hire workers for road projects.There are an estimated 500,000 workers affected by contractualization. By outsourcing their workers directly from employment agencies, these employers do not have any employer-employee relationship with them. No demanding labor unions, no labor problem. It’s all about business profits and the merry sound of the cash register, This is why our people risk the hardships of working in the Middle East, away from their families just to be able to get a decent pay , provide for them and send their children to school.
Under this one-sided labor climate, these profit-only-damn-social-inequity companies only get bigger and become conglomerates with business interests ranging from retail merchandising to real estate development , ownership and operation of public utilities. You don’t know yet who they are? Where have you been all these years—or are you from another planet?
Whether the Senate committee on labor, management and human resources chaired by Senator Joel Villanueva can have the political will to end contractualization is not exactly encouraging, despite proposed measures filed by Senators Paolo Aquino, Risa Hontiveros and Miguel Zubiri. We have to keep in mind that many of our politicians are also employers and own businesses. You know who they are in the Senate. Those who are not employers have links to the big companies who contribute large sums to their political campaign. Why kill the goose that lays the golden egg? Why bite the hand that feeds you?
I have written about the anomalous practice of contractualization as early as three years ago and I may sound like a broken record saying the same things again. Still, someone has to keep doing it to the point of repetition. There’s a small chance these shameless companies will have a change of heart and realize not everything is about making money. They can still make money, profit being the essence of doing business. But a strong consumer society resulting from workers secure in their jobs with money to spare is also good for business and the well-being of society. It works both ways.
Bombshell
You want a bombshell that shocks and awes? Well, President Rodrigo Duterte dropped one on Senator Leila de Lima, days ahead of her Senate investigation into the extra-judicial killings of drug suspects. The President directly named de Lima and her married driver-lover for allegedly collecting money from convicted drug lords at the National Penitentiary (New Bilibid Prison) in Muntinlupa. The Bureau of Corrections was under De Lima who was then justice secretary. The money collected from the detained drug lords was allegedly used for De Lima’s campaign for a Senate seat wherein she landed last at 12th place.
Duterte’s bombshell without doubt preempted and took away any explosive revelation that might come up in De Lima’s Senate justice committee hearing. De Lima’s dilemma is now how to deliver a mutually assured destruction that could hurt Duterte. She had been dropping bits and pieces of allegations about Duterte’s death squad when he was Davao City mayor. Unless De Lima presents key witnesses and evidence on Duterte’s direct hand in the hundreds of slain criminal suspects in Davao or the current killings of drug suspects in his nationwide campaign against the illegal trade, she will have a hard time recovering from Duterte’s bombshell. This, even if the Present has yet to present evidence against De Lima and her alleged driver-collector cum lover.
This is the peril of going against an incumbent president. De Lima is at a disadvantage. What she says against weighed against what he says (whether true or not), the president’s words carry a lot more weight than the words of lesser mortals. Call it pulling rank or throwing his weight around. Duterte has the advantage of harnessing and marshaling all government resources at his disposal to use against his adversaries.
We have been hearing about De Lima’s dalliance with her driver-security man even before she announced her Senate bid. But what was new in the President’s explosive revelation was the connection to dirty drug money for funding her campaign.
There is another ugly rumor circulating around about an official, higher-ranked than De Lima who allegedly also has a lover. Although no money is involved, she could be liable for immorality and unseated if the allegations are proven to be true.
You cannot mess with this President unless you ‘re prepared to risk all, including your reputation.