House panel passes bill seeking P200-increase for minimum wage earners

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

MANILA, Philippines – After a year of the labor sector’s campaigning, the House labor committee on Thursday, January 30, passed the bill seeking an across-the-board increase for all minimum wage earners in the Philippines.

The panel swiftly voted to approve a version of the bill seeking a P200-daily increase — double that provided by its counterpart bill in the Senate.

The hearing, which lasted just a little over 20 minutes, was only for final manifestations and voting among committee members. Majority of the committee voted to pass the proposed legislation.

“Congratulations to the authors and to our workers. Let us start the new year with much abundance and prosperity,” said committee chair Rizal 4th District Representative Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles.

The approval came just two days after labor leaders met with House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who had “committed” its passage to them.

With just days before Congress adjourns session on February 8, the trade unions hope lawmakers will sustain the momentum to finally pass the bill into law.

Other versions of the bill that were filed proposed increases ranging from P100 to P750. The Senate passed on third and final reading the P100 version in February 2024.

The labor movement lobbied tirelessly for the passage of the national wage increase bill, even as employer groups claimed they would not be able to afford it, or such increases would cause inflation.

The development brings the Philippines closer than ever to a new legislated wage increase, more than three decades since the last one in 1989.

Politically motivated?

The bill had been in limbo for several months until it was suddenly up for schedule on Thursday. With the 2025 midterm elections nearing, questions were raised about whether the sudden push was politically motivated.

Nograles insisted there was no politics involved in the panel’s decision to approve the bill, and that it took a while because of the need to hear the different opinions of workers, investors, employers, and government agencies.

“Mahaba, masalimuot, at kailangan po ng ating mga members na pag-aralan, suriin ‘yung issue, kung ano po ‘yung dapat na maging desisyon dito po sa wage increase,” he said. (It was long and complicated, and our members needed to study and analyze the issue to come up with the right decision here on the wage increase matter.)

One of the compromises brought up during the committee hearings was to provide subsidies for micro, small, and medium enterprises who might not be able to afford the increases. Nograles said that the bill in its current form did not provide for this yet.

There will be three Session days next week before Congress adjourns. The next time the bill can be taken up again, and possibly proceed to the bicameral committee, is in June, after the midterm elections.

Deputy Speaker and TUCP Representative Raymond Mendoza urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify the bill as urgent. He recalled when Marcos was still a candidate, visited TUCP and told the group, “No workers should be left behind.”

“Mr. President, after 36 years… With the appeal from the workers of this country, please certify this bill [as] urgent. Ipasa na, now na (Pass it now),” he told reporters after the hearing.

Mendoza also confirmed that there was a commitment from Romualdez to pass the bill.

Urgent need

Before the hearing started, labor groups mobilized outside the House of Representatives to reiterate support for the bill’s passage.

Josua Mata, secretary general of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro), said his group was optimistic about the passage of the bill, but that much can still happen before the 19th Congress ends in June.

“I know the Speaker committed to us when we spoke to him, but a lot can happen from now until after the elections,” Mata said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Mata said it was crucial that the across-the-board increase was over P200 to ensure that all regions would be above the poverty threshold for a family of five.

“It is only right that it is passed now, because it was delayed for so long, and more importantly, we deserve to finally have this increase,” said Mata.

Mendoza said in a separately released statement that the wage hike was not just any increase in pay, but “an investment in the future.”

“It will lift over 5 million minimum wage earners out of poverty, put nutritious food of their table, send their children to school, and give them a fighting chance for a better life to overcome hardships and attain prosperity,” he said.

Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas said the progressive Makabayan bloc will still push for the versions seeking a P750-increase in the next hearings.

“Yes, we will still push. Kahit naman sa susunod na Congress, ang Gabriela Women’s Party po patuloy na maghahangad, magpa-file ng necessary na dagdag-sahod para sa ating mga manggagawa. Hindi po namin tatantanan ‘yan,” said Brosas.

(Even in the next Congress, Gabriela Women’s Party will continue to file necessary wage increases for our workers. We will not give up on that.) – Rappler.com