go through Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, reporter
House of Representatives TuesdayApprove a third and last approved measure seeking a comprehensive minimum wage for P200 despite concerns about private sector workers Its potential inflation effects and advertisingThe impact of scripture on small businesses.
Legislators vote to pass House Bill 171-1-0, paving the way for the first legislative wage rate hike since the law created in the late 1980s The Regional Wage Committee determines the salary rate.
Members of Congress passed the bill in February, while the Senate GreenLit bill sought a peer bill for P100 wages last year.
But House approval of wage hikes just days before the scamThe last recess on June 13.
In a statement after approval, the Philippine Trade Unions Congress (TUCP) urged the leaders of the House and Senate to immediately convene their meeting committees to reconcile disagreements in its bill.
“I call on all my two-tier committee colleagues – colleagues from my Senate and House colleagues – to let us do this work and do it now.” “We’ve gone beyond the stage of whether we pass legislative wages or not. Hiking, but paying more and more. ”
He added: “Whether it ends up approaching P100 or P200, this will be the biggest salary increase in nearly four decades.”
The Philippines has set minimum wages as a regional through the wage committee, but lawmakers believe the system is slow and insignificant but unable to keep up with rising costs.
According to a social weather station survey in April, about 55% of Filipino families consider themselves poor. Data from the Philippine Bureau of Statistics shows in 2023 that families of five need at least P13,797 or P460 per month to make ends meet.
Jose Sonny G, president of the Free Workers.
“The legislative wage rate hike breaks Barya-Barya “(Change) adjusts the adjustment of the Regional Wage Board. For the national minimum wage workers, this means a real boost to daily survival, which is a step towards a living wage,” he said in a Viber message.
However, Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Philippine Employers Federation.
“Only 10% of employees will be affected by the increase in legislative wages,” he said on the phone, noting that most workers are in the informal sector. “For example, most are farmers, fishermen, tricycle and jeep drivers and market suppliers.”
According to government data, nearly 50 million Filipinos were employed in March 2025.
John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior fellow at the Philippine Development Institute, said companies may work to keep up with legislative wage hikes, prompting them to raise the prices of goods and services they provide, which could be inflation.
“Businesses can pass higher labor costs to consumers by raising prices,” he said in a Viber message. “But the impact of inflation will depend on the scale of the wage rate hike and whether it is interlaced or accompanied by productivity increases.”
He said immediate pay raises could force companies to shrink the size of their workforce, resulting in lower jobs and less hiring. “Micro and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) may have a hard time absorbing higher wage bills.”
Under the UN Development Plan, MSMES accounts for more than 99% of all operations in the Philippines and accounts for 67% of the country’s total employment.
Under the proposed law, the Department of Labor can provide incentives to small businesses to help them comply with legislative wage increases. Companies with less than 10 employees can also exempt this measure.
Mr Ortiz said it could cost P1.5 billion if he chose to subsidize small businesses so that they could comply with the proposed wage rate hike.
“It could cost as much as $500 million a day,” he said. “Where will that come from?”
Mr Ortiz said councillors should let the regional wage committee deal with the wage increase. “Every year, the Regional Wage Council is raising wages.”
Mr Rivera said Congress should also consider implementing legislative wage upgrades through a phased or region-based approach to help balance the interests of businesses and workers.
