MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte still considers ending labor contractualization a promise, though he did not mention it in his final State of the Nation Address, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Duterte in 2016 promised to stop "endo" or "end of contract", a practice in which some employers end contracts on the fifth month and renew it for 5 months at a time to avoid granting workers regular employee status.

But the President, who steps down in June next year, did not bring up the issue in his last SONA on Monday, despite calls for him to certify a proposed anti-endo law as urgent.

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"Hindi na po na-mention ‘yan dahil (because) it continues to be a promise, and I think the administration will continue to work with Congress para doon sa (for the) final endo bill that will be acceptable to all stakeholders," said Palace spokesman Harry Roque.

"We continue to reach a compromise na acceptable po sa lahat ng stakeholders," he said in a press briefing.

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In 2019, Duterte vetoed an anti-endo bill to achieve a "delicate balance" between the interests of employers and employees.

This bill contained "objectionable portions", Roque said.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III last week said he asked Duterte to certify as urgent a bill that seeks to end labor contractualization, contrary to Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Jacinto Paras' statement earlier this month that ending endo was "somewhat" no longer a priority.

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Video courtesy of RTVM