Bid for P200 wage hike not yet dead, says House leader

The proposal to increase minimum wage rates in the private sector by P200 nationwide is not yet dead, and the House of Representatives is looking to pass the pending bill when lawmakers return in June.

“[The legislative] session will resume in June, and we will have two weeks before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die,” said Rizal Rep. Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles, chair of the House labor and employment committee.

“Don’t worry. We will not let our efforts for a wage increase be wasted. We will continue to strive to have (the measure) passed in this 19th Congress,” he added as he assured workers the “fight for better wages is still not dead.”

Nograles was referring to House Bill No. 11376, which has been pending before his committee since last year, although the Senate already passed its version of the bill, amounting to an increase of P100, in March 2024.

HB 11376 is a consolidation of House Bills 514, 7568, 7871, and 10139, all seeking a legislated minimum wage increase, but the House panel only approved the bill on second reading on Monday, when there were less than three days before adjournment.

Business leaders against the proposed increase said it would overly burden medium and small enterprises and cause wage disparities, particularly in the informal sector.