There is no word yet from President Marcos whether he will certify as urgent the passage of a P200 legislated wage hike, but he has ordered a review of regional minimum wage rates.
"Wala pa po, as of the moment po ha. Wala po sa akin pang naibibigay kung anumang direktiba patungkol po diyan. Pero, minadali po kaagad ni Pangulo, ang direktiba po dito sa atin RTWPB (Nothing yet as of the moment. We have yet to get any directive regarding that. But the President has already given his directive to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board )," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Wednesday, April 2.
According to Castro, Marcos has directed the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) to conduct a review on the regional minimum wage rates, and comply with the rules on the labor code.
At present, the board was able to review 16 regions, the undersecretary said.
"[S]a ganito po kasing pagtataas ng sweldo po, kinakailangan din po natin kasing madinig lahat, ang employers, employees para po mabigay po natin ang mga mas maganda at resonableng sweldo po para sa kababayan natin (In terms of wage hike, we need to listen to all sides, the employers, the employees in order to provide a more reasonable salary for our fellowmen)," she said.
When asked if the President is not keen on pushing the legislated wage hike, Castro said "we have to wait for the decision of the Congress."
"Iyan po ay nasa—ngayon po ay pending po, kung hindi ako nagkakamali sa kongreso. So, hintayin na lamang po natin kung mayroon po silang magiging resulta sa kanilang gagawin pong na legislation (For now it is pending in Congress, if I am not mistaken. So, let's just wait for the result of the legislation)," she said.
The legislated wage hike of P200 is currently being pushed amid the looming P2 jeepney fare hike set this month.