Personally I think they were doing the right thing by their...

Personally I think they were doing the right thing by their workers and keeping them on the books and ready to get back into the work once the FTAA was approved. It also could be viewed as a bit of a bargaining chip as well. There would a lot of grateful workers who have been kept on the books and their loyalty to the company will have increased. They will now be upset and putting as much pressure on the politicians to see if they can get a positive response finally from Duterte before the mid October chop.
Surely Duterte would want to grant the FTAA before that date comes round.