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Former PTV-4 host urges management to regularize workers at state-run network

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A former PTV-4 host who allegedly lost his job after revealing that the state-run network still has employees who are on job orders up until today urged the government to “swiftly” process the regularization of its employees.Jules Guiang — whose tweet was directed at Anakalusugan Party-list representative Mike Defensor — revealed he has been working for the People’s Television Network for eight years without benefits. Guiang tweeted in connection to Defensor’s allegations that ABS-CBN employees weren’t being regularized during the congressional hearings for the network’s franchise renewal.“Check govt’s backyard, thousands aren’t regularized. Ex: I’m on my 8th year in PTV w/o benefits, no employer-employee status. Job orders are a thing in govt &amp; private sector,” Guiang wrote in a tweet.He added: “We’re all for regularization, for a living wage, etc. I just find this argument hypocritical to be used against a network that is trying to renew their franchise. Maybe it’s a wake up call for the industry to treat their people fairly pero ‘wag naman ipitin ang dos dahil dito.”After reports saying he got sacked from his job for his critical posts about the government on social media, Jules Guiang penned a lengthy post to share his side of the story where he emphasized the reason why he stayed with the network despite the circumstances.According to Jules, he told himself he would stay with PTV-4 for at least ten years. But the end of what he described as a “tough love relationship” with the state-run network came too soon. Then he again, he said he would forever be grateful for the opportunities provided to him by his home for nearly a decade.“PTV provided me with immense opportunities. When I got calls for new projects or shows, while I felt I often didn’t deserve it, I just say I am grateful. I am grateful for the massive network I was able to build with people and groups within the government, private sector, and civil society, both in the country and abroad,” he said.He went on: “I am grateful because I was given several chances to work with the hardworking men and women of this TV network. Some of them have been working in the network for decades, some a few years, some even for several months.”But Guiang emphasized that even though it was his choice not to get regularized, around 400 employees working for the network want to receive benefits and most importantly, put an end to contractualization to attain job security. “Each of them has a story to tell, of contentment and even disappointment. Some of them, despite working for more than a decade have not been regularized. They are some of the 400+ contract-of-service employees who pray that their contracts would be renewed every 3, 6, or 12 months. Years without benefits. Years without job security. While some of them, like me, are contractuals as a choice, but some, if not most, would definitely want to be regularized,” he shared.According to Guiang, he has been vocal about his thoughts on various issues confronting the Philippines no matter who sits in power. As a matter of fact, he has been consistently speaking up against any wrong decisions made by the government even during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III.“I guess, like in any family, you have someone who is stubborn, very much hardheaded, and I guess that’s me. My being vocal has put me in trouble so many times, from speaking up against PNoy about SAF, being impassioned that ‘rape is not a joke,’ saying that Mocha Uson is a disaster, stood up against the Tulfos, and lately, speaking truth to power by blasting the hypocrisy of those 70 lawmakers who chose to deny ABS-CBN’s franchise - and cited that most of their workers weren’t regularized,” he said.He went on to urge the management of the work to put the welfare of their employees first, saying they deserve to be treated with compassion, kindness, and respect, among others.“With that, I urge the new PTV management to swiftly process the regularization of the network’s employees. I urge them to focus on the welfare of their employees in the middle of this pandemic. I urge them to treat their people with love, compassion, kindness, appreciation, and respect,” he said.Sharing what led to him parting ways with the network, he said: “Maybe I have reached a point when I got exhausted already, of pleading and pleasing some personalities why I deserve a spot in this platform. Maybe it’s been years when the uncertainties have affected my mental health. Today, I choose to take care of myself. Today, I choose growth.”See his post below: <div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameBorder="0" height="700" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FJULESguiang%2Fposts%2F10221727611192173&amp;width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></div>One of the issues tackled during the twelve grueling hearings in Congress for the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN was the employment status of its employees who work either as a talent or program-based worker.Despite the various allegations thrown at the Kapamilya network, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in the end, made it clear that ABS-CBN did not commit any labor violations.

A former PTV-4 employee revealed that around 400 employees of the network working as contractual want to be regularized.