TAGUM CITY – The five candidates for the first congressional district in Davao del Norte may have dissenting opinions on contractualization, but they all agree for federalism.
During the Candidates Forum 2016 on Thursday, April 14, the candidates were asked about their position on contractualization.
Former Davao del Norte first district representative Pantaleon Alvarez said contractualization hinders the acquisition of skills of the workers.
“Contractualization must stop because as long as it is there, we cannot develop our skills. And we need skills when we apply for work,” he said.
Alvarez said he proposes to penalize employers who fail to pay minimum wage for workers as “a crime”.
“If you cannot provide minimum wage for your employees, we will make it a crime,” he said.
Congressional candidate Richard Dexter Welborn said he would also pursue the scrapping of contractualization if he gets elected.
Instead of contractualization, Welborn said there should be “security (of tenure)” for workers.
Supportive for scrapping, but…
Both former Rep. Arrel Olaño and Tagum City Councilor Nicandro Suaybaguio said they are “inclined to support the scrapping” of contractualization.
But Olaño said he wants to study the proposal before scrapping it. “There should be a process,” he said. Suaybaguio said he is also against contractualization.
“However, we should also protect our investors,” he said.
Suaybaguio proposes that the employers should be “categorized” and that contractualization should be on a “case-to-case” basis.
“There are also instances that the businesses are just starting and we need to assist them,” he said.
Suaybaguio added that he believes the government should focus on big companies who are abusive of their employees.
Balance between labor and capital
Atty. Emmanuel Mahipus said contractualization can be applied to “seasonal” types of jobs.
But Mahipus said he agrees that workers of a “regular business”, where the employee has been working for more than six months, “then they should be regularized.”
“There is a need to balance labor with the capital. Otherwise if we only focus on labor, the capital will be affected and the business may go bankrupt. But if you only think about the capital, then it is not balanced,” he said.
Go for federalism
While they differ in their stand about contractualization, all the candidates said they are in favor of federalism.
Alvarez and Olaño said they support federalism. Alvarez added that he has long been campaigning for federalism with fellow federalism advocate Reuben Canoy and former Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel.
“We will fight for that in Congress,” he said.
Olaño said: “I support federalism because we don’t get equal share here in Mindanao.”
Suaybaguio said he supports federalism because he believes that the local government units need “more autonomy”.
“The LGU is more aware of the situation (locally), especially with regards to our budget,” he said.
During the forum the candidates were given two minutes to answer the question of the panelists and another 30 seconds is given for each candidate to answer the follow-up question.
The Candidates Forum 2016 is organized by the Philippine Information Agency and the Commission on Elections. (davaotoday.com)
