THE Makabayan bloc yesterday refiled its P1,200 daily “living” wage hike bill in response to the failure of the previous Congress to approve the proposed legislated wage hike bill because of differences in the versions of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Reps. Antonio Tinio (Alliance of Concerned Teachers) and Renee Co (PL, Kabataan) filed House Bill (HB) No. 2599 or the proposed National Minimum Wage Act of 2025, the priority bill of the Makabayan bloc.
Tinio urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify the P1,200 living wage bill for private sector workers across the country as urgent, saying a substantial legislated wage increase “is long overdue given the current economic crisis facing Filipino families.”
He earlier criticized the Chief Executive for not saying anything about the wage hike issue in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, saying the President is “really allergic” to the call of workers and the people.
The House earlier accused the Senate of killing the proposed legislated wage hike bill by refusing to sit down with congressmen to reach a compromise before the 19th Congress adjourned session.
The 19th Congress ended without ratifying the wage hike bill, which was supposed to be up for bicameral deliberations with senators, whose approved version of the bill only proposes a P100 increase, half of the House-approved version.
HB 2599 seeks to amend Presidential Decree (PD) No. 442 or the Labor Code to establish a national minimum wage, which will apply to “all enterprises, including special economic zones, regardless of location, size, or industry classification.”
The bill seeks to abolish the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in favor of a National Wages and Productivity Board (NWPB).
“Upon effectivity of this Act, the daily statutory minimum wages of private sector workers in both agricultural and non-agricultural enterprises nationwide shall be increased to a uniform national minimum wage rate to be prescribed by the NWPB (National Wages and Productivity Board), the amount ow which shall approximate if not equate the prevailing family living wage, which currently amounts to P1,200 (daily) per month,” the bill said.
“Provided, that the wage increases arising from the new national minimum wage rate should not prejudice other wage increases through collective bargaining,” it added.
The bill provides that the “national minimum wage for agricultural and non-agricultural employees and workers across the country shall be that prescribed by the NWPB through a wage order, by Congress through legislated wage increase or by the President through an executive order.”
It said the national minimum wage set by the NWPB shall be the basis for the minimum salary in the public sector and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) “shall adjust the monthly salary schedule accordingly.”
“Filipino workers have weighed in on the regionalized wage regime through a 36-year history and found it a big failure. They are now demanding that it be scrapped and for the Philippines to return to the regime of uniform national minimum wage that is based on the family living wage,” the bill said.
The bill cited an IBON Foundation study, which showed that the amount needed to raise the current minimum wage to P1,200 living wage only requires 29.7 percent to 49.1 percent of the profits “amassed by private employers.”
“The surge in the prices of oil and other basic goods and services in the last several years likewise has devoured, according to some estimates, the wages of our workers by 25-30%. Workers are now groaning under the crushing effect of heavy taxes and high prices on their wages and income,” the bill said.
