An act that most of the working class expects to end has finally been signed and ordered to be imposed. Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III signed the Department Order No. 174 last March 16, 2017, after months of weighing and studying the pros and cons once he signed the order.

Department Order No. 174 or D.O. No. 174 is an order created to totally ban labor-only contracting, strictly regulating lawful contractual arrangements, ending 'endo' and deputizing workers in nationwide inspection of establishments for compliance with existing labors laws and standards.

The D.O. No. 174 is the answer to what President Rodrigo R. Duterte has promised where he assured of ending the contractual status most of the workers. Prior to the signing a number of consultations with both labor and management was conducted.

The signed D.O. No. 174 supersedes the D.O. 18-A or commonly known as the end-of-contract scheme which was practiced for years by different companies and agencies.

According to Labor Secretary Bello, they took into consideration the social and economic impact of prolonged policy uncertainties and they thought that it will be for the benefit of the greater public.

Mainly, the new department order prohibits numerous provisions that were under D.O. No. 18-A. Thus, ensuring the rights of workers in accordance with the existing labor laws and standards.

In order to ensure the implementation of the signed D.O. No. 174, Labor Secretary Bello directed Undersecretaries Joel Maglunsod and Bernard Olalia to review the enforcement framework of labor laws and standards under Department Order No.131-B, Series of 2016, or the Revised Rules on Labor Laws Compliance System. And for the full enforcement, Labor Secretary Bello requested from the President for the approval of the creation of 200 plantilla positions for Labor Laws Compliance Officers to be deployed in different DOLE Regional Offices. These regional inspection teams will be supervised by Undersecretaries Maglunsod and Olalia.