MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin said on Thursday that the House of Representatives is studying a higher wage hike of P350 while also considering the needs of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Garin made the pronouncement after the second reading approval of the P100-daily minimum wage hike by the Senate on Wednesday, which Garin tagged as “good news.”
“‘Yan nga ay patuloy na dine-deliberate dito sa Kongreso kasi maganda ang intensyon, pero parang mababa ‘yung P100, kasi sa mahal ng bilihin ngayon parang hindi siya sangayon sa pangangailangan ng taumbayan,” she said in a press conference.
(It continues to be deliberated in Congress because the intention is good but P100 seems to be too low. Considering the prices of commodities, it might not be enough for the needs of the people.)
However, Garin said the lower chamber is also deliberating on how to push for a wage hike without “putting the burden” on small businesses.
“Kasi ‘pag tinaas natin ‘yung sweldo, dapat [ay] kaya ng ating mga negosyante. Sa Pilipinas, 98 to 99 percent of the business sector are MSMEs — maliliit na negosyante,” she explained.
(Because if we increase the minimum wage, business owners should be able to adapt. In the Philippines, 98 to 99 percent of the business sector are MSMEs — small business owners.)
Such a concern was also raised by the leading economists in the House, saying that a lot of MSMEs might not be capable of providing at least a P700-daily salary to each of its workers.
Likewise, small businesses might stop operating or lay off workers if they fail to adapt to the mandated wage hike, which Garin stressed is what the government should prevent from happening.
To address this, Garin said that the government should help both workers and small businesses, adding that the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) which is meant to aid minimum wage earners, is one way to do so.
“Ang AKAP ay tulong para ‘yung mga empleyadong nahihirapan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin ay hindi natin ipapasa lang ng buo ang burden sa kanilang mga employer. In our country, we can survive if we help each other,” she concluded.
(AKAP is a way to help workers who struggle with the increasing prices of commodities without solely passing on the burden to their employers.) — Barbara Gutierrez, INQUIRER.net intern
READ: Higher budget for gov’t aid to MSMEs sought