Metro Manila wage board to tackle 16 petitions, including P200 daily hike
By Erika Mae P. Sinaking, Reporter
METRO MANILA’S wage board will formally commence consultations with labor and employer groups in May to evaluate at least 16 petitions for a minimum wage increase, an official said on Tuesday, as labor groups renewed calls for a P200 daily hike.
Sarah Buena S. Mirasol, chairperson of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, confirmed that the board is preparing for a public hearing scheduled for June.
Speaking to BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an Occupational Safety and Health Center event in Quezon City, Ms. Mirasol said the board has already received 16 petitions for a wage hike.
These filings include a proposal from the Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa labor group, seeking a P200 daily increase.
“We will start the discussion because this May marks the start of the 60-day period where we can review and conduct consultations and public hearings,” Ms. Mirasol said in Filipino.
Ms. Mirasol noted that the current economic climate is driving these demands and the impact of the Middle East war.
“Actually, that is the basis of the petitions because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” she said.
“The rising costs of energy, electricity, basic commodities, and of course, the price of gasoline are the reasons they cited for the need to increase the minimum wage,” she said.
Parallel to the board’s administrative timeline, the National Wage Coalition, a massive alliance including Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Kilusang Mayo Uno, NAGKAISA Labor Coalition, and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, issued a scathing manifesto demanding immediate legislative action.
The coalition called for a legislated P200 across-the-board increase as a step toward establishing a “National Living Wage” to replace the current system of provincial rates.
In its statement, the coalition slammed the current administration’s “indifference” toward the plight of workers.
Their demands extend beyond wage adjustments, seeking the suspension of expanded value-added tax and excise taxes on petroleum and electricity, the imposition of a wealth tax on billionaires’ windfall profits, and the implementation of price controls on basic commodities.
With Labor Day approaching on May 1, the coalition warned of massive protests if their demands for relief, including the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, are not met.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission, under the Department of Labor and Employment, earlier announced that the new minimum wage review cycle will start next month, with reviews rolling out to other regions throughout the remainder of the year and into early 2027.
Minimum wage determination in the country is governed by Republic Act No. 6727, where regional wage boards are mandated to periodically review and adjust minimum wages based on regional socio-economic factors such as the cost of living, inflation, and the poverty threshold.
