NCR Wage Hike: P60 Increase Offers Relief, P85 Dispute Lingers

By Mark Joseph M. Sanchez THE P60 wage increase in the National Capital Region (NCR) will provide immediate relief to workers but does not settle their claims under an earlier P85 increase, as questions remain over the legal status of the previous wage order, analysts said. Jose Sonny G. Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers and chairman of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, said Wage Order (WO) No. 28 should not be treated as a replacement for WO 27. “Our position is simple: Wage Order 28 must be treated as a transitory bridge, not a replacement for Wage Order No. 27,” Mr. Matula told BusinessWorld in a Viber message over the weekend. Wage Order No. 28, which takes effect on Sept. 26, raises the minimum wage for nonagricultural workers from P695 to P755. It was issued while the implementation of Wage Order No. 27, which granted a P60 first tranche and another P25 in January 2027, remains blocked by a court injunction. Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino said during a congressional budget hearing on the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DoLE) proposed 2027 budget that Wage Order No. 28 was issued to provide workers with the P60 increase while the legal dispute over Wage Order No. 27 is being resolved. If Wage Order No. 27 is eventually upheld, the P60 under Wage Order No. 28 could be credited against employers’ obligations, while workers should still receive wage differentials from Wage Order No. 27’s July 25 effectivity until Wage Order No. 28 takes effect, as well as the remaining P25 when it becomes due, Mr. Matula said. WO 28 does not clearly establish what would happen if WO 27 is eventually upheld, including its July 25 effectivity and second P25 tranche, he said. The gap between July 25 and Sept. 25 also carries a substantial potential cost for workers, Mr. Matula said. Excluding Sundays, the period covers 54 days. Using Mr. Matula’s figures, a P60 daily difference for 1.1 million direct beneficiaries would amount to about P3.56 billion. For 1.7 million workers potentially affected by wage distortion, an illustrative P30 average adjustment would amount to about P2.75 billion. Mr. Matula stressed that the P30 figure is only an illustration because actual wage-distortion adjustments depend on individual circumstances and the statutory correction process. “WO 28 gives workers something, but September 26 does not answer what happened to July 25 through September 25,” he said. Angelita D. Señorin, a labor sector member of the NCR wage board, also questioned the issuance of WO 28, citing objections she raised during the board’s meeting. Ms. Señorin said the board could not issue another wage order within a year of the previous one unless there are urgent and reasonable grounds, which she said did not exist. “The wage determination process was not followed, such as days of notice, sectoral consultations and hearings,” she said in a text message. She also argued that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) should not have issued another order so soon after WO 27 was published and took effect. Ms. Señorin expects the Supreme Court to reverse the regional trial court’s action on WO 27, citing lack of jurisdiction and the failure to post the required bond. Benjamin B. Velasco, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said workers would welcome the increase, but the P60 remains modest relative to their needs. “Still, P60 is equivalent to an 8.6% hike which is not really historic,” he told BusinessWorld via Facebook Messenger. Mr. Velasco said the increase would put the minimum wage above the NCR poverty threshold but argued that full-time workers should not remain among the working poor. “While it is presumed that wages drive inflation, the reverse is true: wages [trail] inflation,” he said. He also cited the loss of the P25 second tranche under WO 27, saying there is no assurance that another wage order would provide the balance. Mr. Velasco said DoLE could have pursued other legal avenues instead of issuing another wage order, including invoking Article 126 of the Labor Code, which prohibits injunctions and restraining orders against wage-setting proceedings, or seeking to lift the injunction based on the petitioners’ failure to post the required bond. “The NCR wage board and the DoLE decided to untie the legal entanglement of Wage Order 27 by releasing a new wage order without conducting hearings,” he said. Mr. Velasco said DoLE could instead have implemented WO 27 based on provisions of the Labor Code and the employer-petitioners’ inability to post the required bond. “That is what an Alexander the Great would have done to cut the Gordian knot of wage-setting,” he said. “Labor Secretary Tolentino should have put action behind his words by deploying all of the government’s resources behind fighting for Wage Order 27, which he called historic.” Mr. Matula said the issue extends beyond the immediate P60 increase to the credibility of the regional wage-setting system. If a wage order can be placed in legal limbo following a regional trial court challenge until another wage order is issued, future wage orders could face similar uncertainty, he said. “We need an authoritative Supreme Court ruling as soon as practicable on the jurisdictional questions surrounding WO 27,” Mr. Matula said. He said the P60 under WO 28 should be treated as immediate relief while the government continues to defend WO 27 and the full P85 increase. DoLE, in announcing WO 28, said the P60 increase is intended to improve workers’ purchasing power and promote inclusive economic growth. It said the order was issued “following the established tripartite wage-setting process” and reminded employers to comply once it takes effect. Senator Rafael T. Tulfo, vice-chairman of the Labor committee, has also urged DoLE to push for implementation of WO 27, saying the P60 increase under WO 28 is lower than the earlier P85 increase. “Let us remember… What workers need is a genuine wage increase, not a wage decrease — which seems to be happening now, as the increase under Wage Order No. 28 is P25 lower compared to Wage Order No. 27,” Mr. Tulfo said in a press statement on Monday. Mr. Tulfo said the P60 increase could provide relief to workers but should not replace the P85 increase under WO 27, which was blocked by a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Branch 152 of the Pasig Regional Trial Court. The preliminary injunction issued by Branch 152 required petitioners to post a P10-billion bond. Mr. Tulfo earlier filed Senate Bill No. 2372, which seeks to prohibit courts from issuing temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions against wage orders. Following DoLE’s announcement of WO 28, Mr. Tulfo renewed his call for senators to support the measure proposing amendments to Article 126, Section 1 of the Labor Code. Twenty-one senators in August signed a resolution c