4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan (Facebook)

House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan is calling on all Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) outside of Metro Manila to urgently increase the minimum wage of workers.

This, after a recent survey revealed that higher pay for workers was among the most urgent national concerns Filipinos want President Marcos to discuss in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.

“We are counting on all regional wage boards outside of Metro Manila to quickly figure out the pay increases needed to help workers recover the purchasing power that they’ve lost on account of the spiraling prices of basic commodities,” Libanan said in a statement on Sunday, July 14.

Under the Labor Code of the Philippines, all regional wage boards are empowered to review and raise the take-home pay of workers.

Libanan pointed out that this power exists “even in the absence of any petition for an increase”.

According to a recent Pulse Asia survey, adult Filipinos aged 18 years old and above cited “increasing the pay of workers” as their second most urgent concern, after “controlling inflation".

With this, Libanan stressed that the country “absolutely needs” higher wages in a bid to boost household consumption spending.

He explained that spending has been dampened by “wage erosion” during a time where prices continue to soar.

“We have to stimulate household consumption spending if we want to increase the demand for goods and services at a faster rate, and create more jobs in the months ahead,” the veteran lawmaker said.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), household consumption spending accounts for 73 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

During the first quarter of 2024, spending grew by only 4.6 percent——slower than the 6.4 percent growth it posted in the first three months of the previous year.

If there is any delay in the grant of regional pay increases, Libanan says this may “put more pressure” on Congress to enact a nationwide across-the-board wage adjustment instead.

The RTWPB in the National Capital Region (NCR) earlier approved a P35 increase in the daily salary of minimum wage earners.