FACT CHECK | Claim that Cory signed law on contractualization is false

May 31, 2022 , 06:16 PM

By Mikee Garcia

(May 31, 2022) – A YouTube video claimed that the late former President Cory Aquino was the one who passed the law on contractualization.

This claim is false.

CLAIM:

In the video uploaded last May 14 on the Kapatid Avinidz YouTube channel, the narrator, who is a vocal loyalist of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., enumerated certain projects and moves by the administration of Aquino.

One of the claims was that Aquino approved the law on contractualization or fixed-term employment of five months, to favor businessmen from China. The video, however, failed to state any legal basis for this.

RATING: FALSE

FACTS:

It was Marcos who introduced contractualization to the country through Presidential Decree No. 442 or the Labor Code of the Philippines in 1974 during Martial Law.

Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code discuss contracting and sub-contracting which allow for the termination of the services of a worker engaged on a probationary basis not exceeding six months “for a just cause” or when the individual “fails to qualify as a regular employee” under reasonable standards made known by the employer as per Article 281 of the same law.

Aquino made amendments to the Labor Code in 1989 with Republic Act No. 6715 which has often been incorrectly cited as “Contractualization Law” in previously debunked false claims on the matter.

Section 33(b) of the said measure argues for the constitutional right of workers to security of tenure and their right to be protected against dismissal “except for a just or authorized cause” and without prejudice to the requirement of furnishing a written notice under Article 283 of the Labor Code.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

The exploitation of workers began when Marcos introduced contractualization in the country to ensure cheap and repressed labor at a time when the economy was unstable and unemployment was high.

Hiring workers on a five-month basis, just a month short of regularization, allowed employers to not grant work benefits and merely renew contracts.

Succeeding administrations have vowed to end contractualization but all efforts have been in vain as the abusive labor practice persists up to this day.

During his campaign, President Rodrigo Duterte boldly vowed to end contractualization. But he failed to do so and even vetoed the Anti-Endo Bill in 2019, citing the need to balance the interests of business owners and workers.

President-elect Bongbong Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator, said he plans to end contractualization but insisted that some jobs are seasonal.

As of writing, the false YouTube video has received 318,303 views, over 18,000 likes, and 2,008 comments. The Kapatid Avinidz YouTube channel has more than 377,000 subscribers.

News5 is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, e-mail info@factsfirst.ph. Message News 5’s Facebook page if you want to have any claims fact-checked.

Read our fact-checking policy here.

(PM)

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