Wages now top concern of Pinoys – poll

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January 25, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Increasing the salaries of workers is now the most urgent issue that Filipinos want the Marcos administration to immediately address, a survey conducted by the OCTA Research group found.

Results of the Dec. 3 to 11 survey, released yesterday, found that 45 percent of respondents selected wages as one of their top three concerns, with 22 percent selecting it as their first choice.

OCTA noted a “notable reordering of national priorities,” as wages was lowest-ranked among top three urgent issues since November 2024.

Controlling inflation, which usually topped previous polls, was selected by 41 percent of the respondents.

It was followed by access to affordable food (30 percent), fighting graft and corruption (29 percent) and providing free quality education (28 percent).

Other top issues included reducing poverty (24 percent), creating more jobs (19 percent) and fighting illegal drugs (12 percent).

“These movements suggest a shift in emphasis from price containment toward income sufficiency and wage stability,” OCTA said.

“While easing inflation and improved perceptions of food security may have reduced the urgency of price-related concerns, the rising focus on wages indicates that many households remain attentive to income adequacy and economic resilience – particularly in managing everyday expenses and buffering against short-term shocks that may not be fully captured by broader poverty indicators,” it added.

Issues selected by less than 10 percent of the respondents included fighting criminality (nine percent), fulfilling the promise to lower the price of rice (nine percent), promoting peace and order (seven percent), defending the country’s ownership of the West Philippine Sea (six percent), providing assistance to farmers (six percent), addressing involuntary hunger (six percent) and equal enforcement of the law (six percent).

These were followed by stopping the destruction of the environment (five percent), reducing taxes (five percent), defending Philippine territory (two percent), providing support to small entrepreneurs (two percent), changing the Constitution (two percent), controlling population growth (two percent), providing assistance under AKAP (two percent), protecting OFWs (one percent) and preparing for any kind of terrorist threat (one percent).

The survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.