MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is eyeing a compromise on the issue of labor contractualization as he admitted that he cannot force businesses to provide all benefits to workers.

Duterte, who vowed to prohibit illegal forms of labor contractualization when he was running for president, said there are few businesses in the country that can absorb human resources.

"In other countries, be it Hong Kong, America, you work for a certain guy and if he does not like the quality that you produce, you get out, you get paid, separated and that's it. It could have been that simple but because there are few businesses to absorb the human resource, they want some radical changes," the president said during the inauguration of an Armscor shooting range yesterday in Davao City.

"I don't think that I can really give them all because we cannot force the capitalists...if they have no money or they do not want (the employee) because he is lazy. Don't make it hard for them to run the business the way they like it because that's their money. So something of a compromise must be...acceptable to everybody," he added.

Duterte admitted that the sheer number of people who need jobs remains an issue in the country.

Earlier this month, Malacañang said Duterte was still studying the proposed executive order prohibiting end of contract (endo) and other forms of illegal labor contractualization.

Duterte announced a plan to issue the order on endo last year.

"I say now, I stand firm on my conviction to end 'endo.' The Labor Code guarantees all workers of the right to security of tenure this has to be strictly enforced. I just need time," the president said in a Labor Day speech last year.

"To this end, I will issue an executive order directing the strict implementation of the existing provisions of the law against endo and labor-only contracting."