Senators file bills to increase minimum wage

Several senators have filed legislative measures for the 20th Congress to increase the minimum wage of Filipino workers, with Senator Risa Hontiveros proposing a P200 daily wage increase as part of her priority bills.

Senator Joel Villanueva's Living Wage Act aims to adjust the minimum wage based on a living wage standard and has welcomed the PHP50 wage adjustment for Metro Manila but emphasized the need for structural reforms using updated, region-specific cost-of-living data.

On Wednesday, Senator JV Ejercito filed another bill seeking a P250 daily wage increase for private sector workers to address rising costs of living, covering contractual or subcontractual workers and those in agricultural and nonagricultural fields.

The Department of Labor and Employment announced a PHP50 wage hike for at least 1.2 million minimum wage earners in the National Capital Region starting next month, which Ejercito noted is commendable but falls short of workers' needs across the Philippines.

Senators continue to prioritize bills aimed at improving workers' welfare, including Hontiveros' Fair Wages and Productivity Act and Villanueva's push for regional wage boards to set decent minimum wage levels based on a living wage standard.