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Louella Desiderio - The Philippine Star
February 4, 2025 | 12:00am
Workers are seen at a construction site in Manila on January 8, 2025.
STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — Decisions on wage hikes should be left to regional wage boards as they are best positioned to determine rates based on an area’s cost of living, according to the country’s largest business group.
“A blanket national minimum wage does not take into account differences in the cost of living across regions, as well as the unique needs of businesses based on specific industry, location and type of labor they need,” said Enunina Mangio, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The House of Representatives recently approved a bill seeking a daily minimum wage hike of P200.
The measure, Mangio said, would remove regional wage boards’ flexibility to set wages aligned with situations in local areas.
“This could lead to business inefficiency and stagnation,” she said.
Micro, small and medium enterprises will be forced to shoulder higher payroll expenses, while retail, hospitality and agri-food industries will be forced to pass on the cost of higher wages to consumers, she noted.
Mangio also cited the risk of micro-enterprises in the formal sector shifting some operations to the informal sector to cut costs.
Around 25 to 30 percent of workers in the country are in the formal sector, the group said.
A legislated wage hike could make the Philippines less attractive to investors, given the country has the highest minimum wage in Southeast Asia, Employers Confederation of the Philippines president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said earlier.
Certify as urgent
Before Congress goes on break for the campaign period of the midterm elections, President Marcos should certify as urgent a legislated wage hike bill, according to labor coalition Nagkaisa.
“If tax breaks and confidential funds can be legislated in record time, surely Congress can act just as swiftly to provide relief to millions of struggling Filipino workers,” said Nagkaisa chair Sonny Matula.
No bill can be passed swiftly, he admitted, except when the President “certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity of emergency.”
Marcos should certify as urgent the proposed P200 daily wage increase and allow Congress to expedite its passage, Matula said.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña also urged Marcos to certify as urgent the proposed measure approved by the House labor panel.
“Enough with the endless studies. We need action now! There have been numerous studies on wage hikes showing they improve workers’ purchasing power, raise living conditions and strategically increase productivity,” Cendaña said.
The House leadership, he said, recently met with labor groups to expedite pending wage hike proposals in Congress.
Eight months have been spent studying the bill, he noted.
“Further study only means further suffering. We don’t need to wait for the regional wage boards to conduct another eight months of study before we increase the minimum wage,” Cendaña said. — Mayen Jaymalin, Mark Ernest Villeza
