President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. emphasized the need for a thorough review of the proposed P200 daily wage increase, following calls from lawmakers urging him to certify the measure as urgent.
Speaking in a chance interview in Pasay City on Friday, Marcos highlighted the role of the tripartite wage board in determining salary adjustments and the need to assess how the proposed legislation aligns with existing mechanisms.
“So, now with this, I don’t know how that’s going to work together. But we will see. We will try to resolve that because as you know it’s very clear that tumataas ang bilihin, nandiyan pa rin ang inflation. Hindi pa natin nasusugpo nang mabuti, nang kumpleto (Prices are rising, inflation is still there. We haven’t been able to curb it well, completely),” he said.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Labor and Employment approved a substitute bill mandating a P200 across-the-board daily wage hike for private sector workers. The measure applies to all businesses, regardless of size or industry, and prohibits employers from using previous wage adjustments to offset the increase unless explicitly covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Senator Joel Villanueva, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resource Development, has urged Marcos to certify the bill as urgent, arguing that economic growth should translate into concrete benefits for workers.
While acknowledging the need for wage adjustments, Marcos stressed the importance of addressing the proposal’s legal and economic implications. He expressed particular concern over its potential burden on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“’Yung sa corporate walang problema ‘yan, iyong malalaking korporasyon, kaya nila ‘yan. Kahit anong increase ang ilagay niyo kaya nila ‘yan. Pero ‘yung maliliit, iyon ang inaalala ng mga iba (There’s no problem with corporates, those big corporations, they can handle it. No matter what increase you put on them, they can handle it. But the small ones, that’s what others are worried about),” he said.
Marcos remained open to the possibility of a wage hike but reiterated the need for careful deliberation.
“Pero palagay ko naman (But I think) there is a way to increase that but we have to resolve the legal issues, we have to resolve the economic issues. So, it still deserves a great deal of study,” he added.