PNA FILE PHOTOTHE TRADE Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Monday called on President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to push for and sign into law a measure increasing the daily minimum wage to P200 after he raised the daily subsistence allowance for military personnel by P200.
“April is shaping up to be a month of train, jeepney, bus, water, and power price hikes — yet Congress expects us to wait until June, when only six session days remain, to pass this badly-needed wage increase which has been even below the poverty line and the daily healthy food requirement for over three decades now?” the TUCP said in a statement.
The group said current minimum wages are not enough to keep Filipinos from living in poverty.
The President on March 14 issued Executive Order (EO) 84 that raised the subsistence allowance for enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to P350 from P150.
The order said the existing allowance for the military was “no longer adequate to meet the daily sustenance of an active-duty soldier, which is essential for their well-being and performance of their duties.”
The House Commitee on Labor earlier approved a bill that would grant a P200 across-the board wage increases for private sector workers.
The Senate approved a bill increasing the daily minimum wage in the private sector by P100 in February last year. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
