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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House OKs P200 wage hike bill on 2nd reading, but there's a catch

House OKs P200 wage hike bill on 2nd reading, but there's a catch

Published Feb 3, 2025 02:27 pm

At A Glance

  • The P200 wage hike bill for private sector workers continued its swift progress in the House of Representatives on Monday, Feb. 3 after it was sponsored in plenary and approved on second reading during the same evening.

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The P200 wage hike bill for private sector workers continued its swift progress in the House of Representatives on Monday, Feb. 3 after it was sponsored in plenary and approved on second reading during the same evening.

However, there was a catch: from the proposed across-the-board increase, the approved measure was tweaked to only benefit minimum wage earners.

Approved on second reading via simple voice vote was House Bill (HB) No.11376, titled the "Wage Hike for Minimum Wage Workers Act".

Deputy Speaker TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza sponsored the wage hike measure during plenary session Monday. But before the conduct of voice vote, the majority moved to replace the substitute bill from the Committee on Labor and Employment in its entirety.

The presiding officer at that time, Deputy Speaker Cebu 5th district Rep. Vicent Franco "Duke" Frasco, carried the motion.

HB No.11376 retained the amount of P200 for the wage increase that was stipulated in the substitute bill passed at the committee level last Jan. 30.

It stated that the daily rate of all minimum wage workers in the private sector, regardless of employment status, including those in contractual and sub-contractual arrangements, whether agricultural or nonagricultural, shall be increased by P200 per day.

To assist in the compliance of the wage increase, HB No.11376 stated that small enterprises may avail of the incentives from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) subject to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

Under a new provision, Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) shall be exempted from coverage of the wage hike.

It also says that any person, corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association, or entity found in violation of any provision of the measure shall face a fine ranging from P100,000 to P500,000 and/or imprisonment for two to four years.

3rd reading?

In his sponsorship speech, Mendoza urged President Marcos to cerfity the bill as an urgent piece of legislation.

Without such certification, the earliest that the House of Representatives can approve the bill on third and reading is on June 2, or after the May 12 mid-term elections.

The other legislative chamber, the Senate, approved a similar bill last year, but it was only for a P100 daily wage increase.

Both legislative chambers will go on recess after Feb. 5.

The last time that a wage hike measure was enacted in the country was back in 1989, or 36 years ago.

Related Tags

Wage hike House of Representatives Minimum wage Third and Final Reading
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