Marcos highlights regional min wage hikes, ignores natl increase calls

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the increase in minimum wages across all regions, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), during his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 22.

Marcos emphasized that these increases aim to help over four million workers and their families, with the latest hike in Metro Manila raising the daily minimum wage from P610 to P645 for non-agriculture sector workers.

Despite legislative discussions on an across-the-board increase of up to P750, Marcos ignored calls for a legislated minimum wage hike during his address, focusing instead on regional wage board decisions.

Lawmakers have been debating bills ranging from a P100 to a P750 increase in the minimum wage, with the Senate approving the P100 version while counterpart bills remain pending at the House committee level.

Labor groups and lawmakers criticized Marcos' address for not addressing workers' demands for a legislated across-the-board P150 increase and failing to mention labor rights issues such as trade union killings and red-tagging.