The House of Representatives is calling on the Senate to immediately convene the Bicameral Conference Committee to reconcile the differing versions of the proposed minimum wage hike bills from the two chambers.
Rizal 4th district Rep. Fidel Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, made this appeal ro his counterpart, Senator Joel Villanueva, in a formal letter sent Wednesday, June 11, the last day of sessions in the 19th Congress.
Nograles sais in his letter that failure to act would leave millions of Filipino workers “with nothing—despite months of effort and public expectation".
“The House of Representatives acted swiftly and decisively. We passed our version of the bill on third reading, submitted the names of our conferees in advance, and have since stood ready to enter into bicameral discussions with our Senate counterparts,” the Rizal solon told Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor.
Last June 4, the House of approved on third and final reading its version of the measure, which called for a P200 pay hike for minimum wage earners. The Senate's version, which sought a lower, P100 increase, was passed last year.
Solons need to agree on an amount in a bicam hearing, ratify the resulting harmonized measure and send it to Malacañang for President Marcos' signature.
Apparently, the Senate only named its conferees last night, limiting the already narrow window for bicameral discussions and ratification.
“If we fail to deliver today, there is a very real danger that our workers will be left with nothing,” Nograles said.
He stressed that the House strongly prefers a transparent and deliberative bicameral process, “rather than being bamboozled into accepting the Senate version wholesale, without discussion or compromise".
“That is not how co-equal chambers of Congress are expected to legislate. We cannot and should not be forced into a corner where our only option is to rubber-stamp a version that does not reflect the result of honest dialogue. This bill deserves better. The Filipino people deserve better,” he said.
The House warned against any attempt to “circumvent the process by limiting dialogue or bypassing bicameral reconciliation", and said it would be “a disservice to the legislative process and to the people we are all sworn to serve".
“With both panels now duly constituted, we appeal for the immediate convening of the bicameral conference committee—today, if we are to meet our deadline. The House panel is ready, willing, and available. All that remains is for our counterparts in the Senate to come to the table,” the letter stated.
The 19th Congress will adjourn sine die after Wednesday's plenary session.