MANIFESTATION ON THE PASSAGE OF SENATE BILL 1826
Senator Joel Villanueva

Mr. President, esteemed colleagues:

Ngayong araw, humarap po tayo sa sangandaan: ang isa ay patungo sa lugar kung saan walang kapanatagan ang loob ng ating mga kababayan. Ang isa nama'y patungo sa lugar kung saan mas makakatulog sila ng mahimbing dahil payapa ang loob nila't isipan.

Subalit para sa isang manlalakbay na humahantong sa sangandaan, hindi po madali ang pagpili kung anong landas ang dapat tahakin. Madalas, temptasyon ang mas makinis kumpara sa bako-bakong kalsada.

Today, at this very moment, we chose to take the hard road, not the easy one. A road that will lead us to a better and more decent employment for the Filipino people.

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:

I believe with all my heart that we are all together in this journey; we all want to move in the same direction where all forms of labor abuses are a thing of the past:

The bill we passed today, certified as urgent by the President, will give peace of mind to our workers because of the assurance that they will not be dismissed without just or authorized causes and due process.

The bill we passed today will empower the industry tripartite council to determine roles that can be outsourced per industry. That's why we used the conjunction "OR" instead of "AND" to recognize that industry is in a better position to determine which jobs are directly related to them given the dynamism at work and the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The bill we passed today prohibits labor-only contracting, classifies our workers into regular, probationary, project and seasonal employees and addresses the current practice of misclassifying workers to prevent them from obtaining regular status.

The bill we passed today is a big win for our workers, our employers, and our economy. Studies have shown that providing security of tenure to workers will increase their productivity that will eventually increase the output of the company and generate economic growth.

Mr. President, esteemed colleagues:

We are all here only because of the confidence which our people have placed in us - many of whom are members of the working class. They entrust us with the steers of charting the future course of our beloved country.

Maraming, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat sa pagpili sa landas kung saan may dignidad, pag-asa at asenso ang sambayanang Pilipino.

Sa atin pong Vice Chairperson, Senator Sonny Angara at sa lahat ng miyembro ng ating Komite: Senator Nancy Binay, Senator JV Ejercito, Senator Win Gatchalian, Senator Bam Aquino, Senator Risa Hontiveros, at sa mga "Moses" na naghati sa karagatan para makatawid po tayo patungo sa araw na ito: Senator Frank Drilon, Senator Ralph Recto, Senator Cynthia Villar, gayundin sa ating Senate President Tito Sotto at Majority Leader Migz Zubiri. Salamat po.

Sa atin pong mga kasama mula sa mga labor groups na matagal nang nakikibaka para sa maipasa ang panukalang batas na ito: Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Philippine Metalworkers Alliance (PMA) at marami pa pong iba. Salamat po.

Sa business community at employers group: Employers' Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Joint Foreign Chamber (JFC), Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors (PALSCON), Union of Labor Service Contractors, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Federation of Philippine Industries, etcetera. Salamat po.

Sa mga opisyal at staff ng Department of Labor and Employment, sa mga kaibigan natin sa media na instrumento para maiparating ang isyu sa ating mga kababayan. Salamat po.

Mr. President, esteemed colleagues:

Thank you for supporting this measure which is pro-labor, pro-business, in short, pro-Filipino.

Maraming salamat po at pagpalain tayo ng ating Panginoon!