We’ll continue to push for P150 wage hike, says Revilla
Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. (Senate PRIB photos)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. is hellbent on raising minimum wage earners’ pay despite the P40 increase earlier granted to them.
The P40 daily wage hike for workers in the private sector is expected to be implemented in National Capital Region (NCR) starting July 16.
Revilla, though, insisted that the increase is insufficient, noting the rising cost of basic commodities.
He vowed to continue to push for the passage of his P150 across-the-board wage hike bill, a similar measure also filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
“Napakalaki ng utang na loob natin sa mga manggagawa, at kahit ngayong ipinatupad na ang P40 wage hike sa NCR ay naniniwala akong kulang na kulang ito para sa pang araw-araw na gastusin kaya tuloy pa rin ang pagsulong natin sa P150 na dagdag sahod pa,” the senator said in a statement on Monday.
(We are deeply indebted to the workers, and even now that the P40 wage hike has been implemented in the National Capital Region, I believe it is still far from enough to cover their daily expenses, so we will still push for a P150 wage increase.)
“Naniniwala ako na isa sa mga araw na darating ay makukuha natin ang tagumpay hinggil sa karagdagang sahod na dekada na nating ipinaglalaban, kaya nagpapasalamat ako kay SP (Senate President) Zubiri at mga kasamahan natin sa Senado dahil unti-unti ay lumiliwanag na ang lahat,” he added.
(I believe that one of these days, we will succeed in our decade-long fight for increased wages, so I am thankful to SP (Senate President) Zubiri and our colleagues in the Senate because everything is slowly becoming clear.)
Revilla and Zubiri filed separate bills in March this year seeking a P150 daily wage hike for private sector workers nationwide.
As the backbone of the country’s economy, laborers’ “great contribution to the nation should be reciprocated with a true living wage,” Revilla stressed.
“Everyone is feeling the brunt of these hard times. Lalo na ang ating mga manggagawa na silang nagtataguyod ng ating ekonomiya… Kaya panahon na para ipasa ang isang makatarungang across-the-board wage increase para sa kanilang lahat,” he said.
(Everyone is feeling the brunt of these challenging times, especially our workers, who are the backbone of our economy… That is why it is time to pass a fair across-the-board wage increase for all of them.)
