Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III told the public to shun the narrative that the proposed P100-minimum wage hike would be catastrophic for the country as this could further aggravate inflation.

In a radio interview on DWIZ, Pimentel said that the country has to think out of the box or else nothing will improve.

"Huwag tayong maniwala dyan. Kailangan ang approach natin, out-of-the-box thinking tayo dito sa Pilipinas (Let's not believe that. Our approach has to be out-of-the-box thinking here in the Philippines)," he said.

He also frowned over the Western thinking of individuals who read books from England and America. He slammed the notion that raising minimum wage earners' salaries would contribute to inflation.

"In the first place, alam ko four million workers lang naman ang apektado nito. E paanong sila pa ang naging cause ng inflation? (as far I know, only four million workers will be affected by this. How will they cause the inflation?)" he said.

The senator mentioned that the amount being followed by employers under the law is disconnected from the real cost of everyday living in the country. He says that labeling the wage increase as a "catastrophe" is alarmist and should not be believed.

It was the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) who called the move a catastrophe.

Last Wednesday, Feb. 14, the Senate approved on second reading the bill proposing an increase of P100 in the daily minimum wage for private sector workers in the entire country. This is estimated to benefit over 4.2 million minimum wage earners.

Once enacted, Senate Bill (SB) No. 2534 or the P100 Daily Minimum Wage Increase Act of 2023 shall bump up by P100 the minimum wage rate of all workers in the private sector, whether agricultural or non-agricultural.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, endorsed for plenary approval SB No. 2534 last Feb. 7.

From the original proposal of a P150 daily wage increase, Estrada said his committee recommended a P100 daily pay hike as almost all regional wage boards have already responded to the workers’ clamor by ordering an increase ranging from P30 to P90 last year.