Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion thought it might be better for the government to first wait for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic before approving the proposed wage hike.

Concepcion made the statement as various groups called for an increase in basic pay to cushion the effects of the increasing prices of oil and petroleum products to the public.

In a virtual presser on Monday, March 14, he acknowledged that the sudden armed conflict in Eastern Europe has caused prices of essential goods to increase but suggested that it might be better to wait for small businesses to recover first.

"Wala pang isang buwan bukas ang economy natin na medyo gumaganda iyong mga benta ng mga maliliit na negosyante (The economy has not been open for a month yet and the sales of small business owners have just picked up)," he said during PTV-4's "Laging Handa" presser.

"Itong Ukraine conflict, eh siyempre nangyari, pero hintayin muna na natin lumakas (The Ukraine conflict happened but perhaps we should wait for the economy to get stronger first)," he added.

The Go Negosyo founder said that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III is coming up with a proposal to balance the situation.

Concepcion said it might be too early to talk about a wage hike, especially since small businesses may find it challenging to comply with a salary increase.

"Iyong mas malaking korporasyon ay mas may kaya ‘no; pero iyong small to medium enterprises, iyon mahihirapan kasi sila talaga ang tinamaan (The big corporations can do it but the small to medium enterprises will not because they are the hardest hit by the pandemic)," he said.

"Dito naman sa mga negosyante galing sa tourism sector, kababangon lang iyan eh. Halos two years na walang negosyo so bumabangon pa lang sila, so we have to give them time (We have just revived the tourism sector. They were out of businesses for almost two years so we have to give them time)," he added.

Concepcion clarified that he is not against a wage hike.

"I’m just saying, let us give it some time. It’s brought forward, so tingnan natin kung ano ang impact nito sa negosyante (let's see its impact on business owners)," he said.

"Those that are hardly doing good and just rebounding now, mas mahihirapan ‘no (It will be harder for them). Those who are doing well maybe can afford it. But then again, I think, let’s wait for Secretary Bello to come out and discuss that with the private sector," he added.