By Raymund Antonio Vice President Leni Robredo prefers to look at the brighter side of the P25 increase in the minimum daily wage of workers in Metro Manila and the inflation rate that remained steady at 6.7 percent in October. Vice President Leni Robredo
(Photo by OVP / MANILA BULLETIN) Robredo, a former housing chief, said the wage hike granted by the labor department to Metro Manila workers was “never nearly enough,” but it was “better than nothing.” The lady official also appreciated the October inflation rate in the hopes that it will go down in the coming months. “Hindi siya sapat dahil iyong itinaas talaga ng mga presyo, more than sa itinataas ng suweldo. Pero ₱25 a day, malaking bagay na iyon sa ordinaryong manggagawa,” she said in an interview with reporters during her Metro Laylayan visit in Tondo, Manila. (The amount is not enough because of the increase in prices of goods, it is more than the wage hike. But P25 a day, that's a big help to ordinary workers.) For Robredo, it was also a “big thing” that inflation clocked in at 6.7 percent last month, unchanged from September. “Malaking bagay na hindi na siya tumaas, kasi over the past few months, hindi lang siya tumataas, pero iyong pagtaas niya, beyond our prediction. Kapag ganito iyong nangyayari, hindi nakakahabol iyong safety nets ng pamahalaan," she said. (It is a big thing that inflation did not increase because over the past few months, it did not only go up, the increase was beyond our prediction. If this is happening, the safety nets of the government can’t catch up.) The Vice President brought the Metro Laylayan program on Tuesday to Barangay 58, Zone 5 in Tondo, Manila, where her office provided livelihood assistance, free medical and legal services to its residents. She also visited a daycare center and the home of Valderama family as part of her engagement with the community. On the sidelines of her Metro Laylayan trip, Robredo reiterated the need to review the safety net packages in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law to cushion the impact of the measure and inflation to poor Filipinos. “Iyong ₱200 a month, iyon iyong matagal na nating hinihingi sa pamahalaan na balikan sana, i-revisit. Una, iyong listahan, kung tama pa ba iyong 10 million na tutulungan; pangalawa iyong amount, iyong ₱200 a day, tama pa ba, considering na nakuwenta iyon bago pa nagkaroon ng inflation,” she said. (I hope the P200 a month that we have been asking for a longtime from the government will be revisited. First, we have to know if the list of 10 million beneficiaries is correct; second, is the amount correct, considering it was computed before we have inflation.) Robredo was also asked about the P2-hike in the jeepney minimum fare, which she called a “double-edged sword,” upon its implementation in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon. “Iyong ating mga drivers saka operators nagrereklamo kasi sobrang taas ng gasolina, hindi sapat iyong pamasahe. Pero kapag tinaasan mo naman iyong pamasahe, iyong riding public maaapektuhan,” she said. (The drivers and operators are complaining because of higher fuel prices, the minimum fare is not enough. But once the fare is increased, the riding public will be affected.)