House Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera is in support of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) review of the minimum wage amid the fuel price crisis.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III, on March 9, ordered the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) to prioritize the review of minimum wage.
Minimum wage currently sits at P537 in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“We fully support Secretary Bello’s directive to all regional wage boards to expedite the review of minimum wages to help workers and their families weather the current oil crisis,” Herrera said in a press statement on Monday, March 14.
"It's time to raise the minimum wages. We need to provide hardworking Filipinos a lifeline as they suffer the dual shock of Covid-19 and oil price hikes," she said.
Herrera also offered her service as a legislator to assist in countering the fuel crisis and its effects on consumers and employers alike.
“If there’s anything I can do as a legislator, I want Secretary Bello and the Executive to know that they have my support and I’m very much willing to push in Congress whatever legislation they espouse that would provide relief to our workers in these trying times,” Herrera added.
A “crucifying” fuel price shock is expected to take place on Tuesday, March 15. Diesel prices will reportedly go up by P11.75 to P11.95 per liter; RON95 gasoline, by P7.10 to P7.30 per liter; RON92, by P6.85 to P7.00 per liter; and kerosene, by P9.60 to P9.75 per liter.
This will have been the 11th straight week of local fuel price hikes, in large part due to the Russia-Ukraine war and its effect on the international price of crude.