Malacañang rejected accusations that President Marcos is obstructing the P200 legislated wage hike currently pending in Congress, saying he respects the ongoing deliberations and supports what is best for Filipino workers.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after Kabataan Partylist accused the President of “killing” the wage hike bill to protect wealthy businessmen, claiming that if he truly wanted a salary increase, a single order from the Palace would make it happen.

In her press briefing on Friday, June 13, the Palace Press Officer pushed back against such claims against the President.

“Diktador ba ang Pangulong Marcos Jr.? Hindi naman po (Is President Marcos a dictator? He is not),” she said.

Castro emphasized that the President respects the separation of powers and does not interfere in the independent mandate of Congress.

“Hayaan na lang po muna natin ang usapin na 'yan sa Kongreso (Let us leave the matter to Congress for now),” she said.

The Palace official reminded the public that aside from any proposed legislation, the government already reviews and adjusts wages annually through the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.

“Taon-taon naman po ay inaaral po ito ng Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards at sa bawat rehiyon, sa bawat lugar ay nagkakaroon po ng increase ng mga sweldo o sahod ang ating mga kababayan (Every year, these are reviewed by the boards, and in each region, our countrymen receive wage increases),” she said.

Despite this, Castro said President Marcos is not opposed to a wage hike.

“Ang Pangulo naman po hindi tutol sa increase—sa wage hike—dahil ito po naman ay makakabuti sa mga manggagawa (The President is not opposed to a wage hike, because it would benefit workers),” she said.

The House of Representatives approved the P200 legislated wage hike on third and final reading earlier this month. The Senate approved its version last year.

Last week, Castro said Marcos has not yet endorsed or committed to signing the proposed P200 wage hike bill, but underscored that the President remains committed to finding a fair and practical resolution.

"Nais po ng Pangulo na maibigay ang nararapat at mas makakabuti sa manggagawang Pilipino (The President wants to provide what is fair and most beneficial for Filipino workers)," she said.

The proposed increase would override the regional wage-setting system currently administered by tripartite wage boards, which traditionally calibrate rates based on local economic conditions. This is also a point raised by Marcos in January this year.

"The thing is, we have a tripartite board that actually determines the increase in the wage. So, we still have to study it further to see how that will work together," he had said.

"I don’t know how that’s going to work together. But we will see. We will try to resolve that because, as you know, it’s very clear that tumataas ang bilihin, nandiyan pa rin ang inflation (the price of goods is rising and the inflation is still high)," he added.

Labor groups have long pushed for a nationwide wage hike, arguing that regional boards move too slowly and wages remain below living standards in most areas.

Employers' groups, however, have warned that a mandated increase may force smaller businesses to reduce their workforce if not close operations entirely. Some sectors also warned that a legislated wage hike would accelerate the country's inflation rate.

In January this year, President Marcos said the government would work to find ways to resolve legal issues that may hound the salary increase.

"It’s certainly something that we have to think about to assist yung mga pangkaraniwan na tao (the ordinary people)," he said.

"Palagay ko naman (I think) there is a way to increase that, but we have to resolve the legal issues, we have to resolve the economic issues. So, it still deserves a great deal of study," he added.

While he is in favor of a salary increase, President Marcos echoed the concern of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and how it would affect consumer pricing.

"The [small business] employers are worried... ‘Pag tinaas yung minimum wage, mababawasan ang kanilang empleyado kasi ganoon pa rin yung pera nila. Hindi naman madadagdagan yung pera na pambayad nila ng suweldo (If we increase the minimum wage, they would have to cut down on their workforce because their profit is the same. They're not earning more to pay for their employees)," Marcos said.

"Iyong malalaking korporasyon, kaya nila ‘yan. Kahit anong increase ang ilagay niyo kaya nila ‘yan. Pero ‘yung maliliit, iyon ang inaalala ng mga iba (The big corporations can handle no matter how much you increase the salary increase. But we are concerned about the small business owners)," he added.