Duterte: Ex-Labor undersecretary Say lied about reason for resignation

President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said former Labor undersecretary Dominador Say lied about the real reason behind his resignation.

In a speech before the Filipino community in Singapore, Duterte said he told Say to tender his resignation after receiving  a complaint from a certain recruiter from DOLE.

"Pinalabas niya na nag-resign siya. Kasi ako naman, ayaw kong hiyain 'yung tao," he said.

Say was the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) dndersecretary for employment, policy support and Luzon-Visayas regional operations.

The former undersecretary told the media earlier this month that he sent a resignation letter to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to spare the agency from unwanted "pro-management" criticism amid the call of militant groups for the signing of an executive order (EO) on contractualization.

Duterte said the undersecretary stated a false reason, adding he was not even part of the discussions on "endo."

"Ang problema nito, kay Say, is he hoisted a lie before the public when asked what was the reason why he resigned and said hindi kami magkaintindihan in the formulation of endo. He was not part of it, actually," he said.

Duterte had reportedly ordered Say to retract his statement, threatening he would release the affidavit signed and executed by the recruiter.

"Kaya sinabi ko sa kanya, you better tell the truth, make the correction, or else, bibitawan ko 'yung affidavit ng complainant na recruiter sa labor 'yung papalabas. Sabi ko you sign an affidavit in my presence and I will take care of the guy," he said.

GMA News Online had reached out to Say for comment.

Militant groups and workers association have staged several protests calling on Duterte to sign an EO that would put an end to all forms of unjust contractualization.

Endo was among Duterte's promises when he ran for office in 2016.

Bello announced last week that Duterte will no longer sign an EO on contractualization and instead will certify as urgent a pending bill in the Senate on the security of tenure of workers. —ALG, GMA News