As a politician, he was sympathetic to labor relations issues, advocating a government-run workers insurance plan and an easing of police restrictions on labor protests.
In 2009, the professional employee contract required a modest annual contribution towards the employee's health insurance plan $296 for a single person, $770 for family coverage.
According to critics of the program, the government's subsidized insurance plan encouraged building, and rebuilding, in vulnerable coastal areas and floodplains.