By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
With inflation continuously increasing, the P25 approved raise in the minimum wage of Metro Manila workers is not enough, Sen. Joel Villanueva believes.
Sen. Joel Villanueva
(Senate of the Philippines Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
"This is inadequate considering the continuous increase in the prices of goods," the chair of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development said in a statement Monday.
For Villanueva, the "most sensible" way to help workers would be to lower the value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services from 12 percent to 10 percent.
"This will have a better effect than a wage increase of P25," he said.
While he supported appeals for suspension of the second round of fuel excise tax in January, Villanueva said prices will continue to increase due to other factors driving inflation.
Senators have been calling for the decrease in the VAT rate amid the rising prices in goods and services being blamed on the spike in global oil prices and the imposition of adjusted taxes under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.
Measures on the matter were filed in the chamber.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced on Monday the P25-pay increase in the daily wage of workers in the National Capital Region has been granted.
Besides the P25 hike, P10 cost-of-living allowance (COLA) will also be added.
From P500, the new minimum wage rate would be P537. It would take effect two weeks after the order is published on a newspaper