Police offer to help DOLE’s “tokhang”

CEBU, Philippines — The Police Regional Office-7 has offered to assist the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in its own version of Oplan Tokhang against labor standards violators, especially those companies involved in “labor-only contracting.”

PRO-7 director Chief Supt. Robert Quenery said the police can provide security to labor personnel conducting “Tokhang” operations. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier gave Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III 30 days to submit a list of companies engaged in “labor-only contracting.”

“This is an effort of DOLE na i-encourage itong companies that are violating yung labor law, if they would need security and assistance, they will just request us, and we will just provide them,” Quenery said.

However, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Central Visayas chief Jaime Paglinawan said the move was an attempt to cover the administration’s refusal to sign the Executive Order on ‘Endo’.

“Wala ni, pagtabon ni ni President Duterte sa wala niya pagpirma sa giduso nga Executive Order para sa paghunong sa kontraktwalisasyon,” Paglinawan told The FREEMAN.

Paglinawan said the administration is not serious in ending labor-only-contracting contrary to what the president had promised in his campaign.

“Ang administration ni Duterte dili seryoso sa paghunong sa contractualization, wala niya tumana ang iyang saad panahon sa eleksyon pag-end sa Endo, pag-Tokhang pa sa kapitalista? Dili na ma-ilad ang mga mamumuo sa tam-is niya nga pasalig,” Paglinawan said.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said that the government is serious in going after companies violating the Labor Code. Roque vowed that the companies caught violating will be shut down. He explained that an order on Endo is no longer necessary because it is already provided for under the Labor Code.

Paglinawan said that militant groups will stage a protest rally on Labor Day to show their indignation to the administration over its unfulfilled campaign promise.

Meanwhile, the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition is calling on all labor groups to unite in protest on May 1. The call was made after Duterte opted to pass the responsibility to Congress to stop endo.

According to the group, contractualization of workers has destroyed the workers’ security of tenure and their exercise of other fundamental rights to form unions and collectively bargain.

"PDigong has effectively reneged on his campaign promise to end endo. Ang EO ay naging ping pong. Sa halip na tuparin ang kanyang pangako, parang bola lang ito na ipinasa niya sa kongreso kung saan higit na malakas ang impluwensiya ng mga kapitalista at mga kakampi nito," Nagkaisa said.

It said that the move of Duterte to inhibit himself from exercising his executive powers to prohibit contractualization will send the wrong signal to members of Congress, who, for the last two years, were waiting for a clear policy guidance from the President on the issue of endo.

"He made workers wait for more than two years, only to end up at the doorsteps of Congress begging for a stricter version of anti-contractualization bills. Binigo ni PDigong ang mga manggagawa na bumoto sa kanya dahil sa kanyang pangakong wakasan ang kontraktwalisasyon. Inilantad ni PDigong ang tunay niyang papanigan sa pagitan ng interes ng manggagawa at kapitalista," the group added. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon (FREEMAN)