Belmonte wants calls for wage hikes out of lower House

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said moves to increase the minimum wage should be brought to the wage boards instead of to the House of Representatives, Inquirer Radio 990AM reported on Thursday, Labor Day.

The report quoted Belmonte as saying the fight for wage increase should be done through wage boards and not through lawmakers.

According to the Wage Rationalization Act, Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board across the country will determine the minimum wage rates under the authority of the National Wages and Productivity Commission.

Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc were among those who took it to the lower House to push for the passage of a legislated wage hike.

Under the Aquino administration, minimum wage increases in select regions range from P13 to P62 since 2010.

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