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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Anong historic?': TUCP Party-list lambasts Tolentino over P85 Metro Manila minimum wage hike

'Anong historic?': TUCP Party-list lambasts Tolentino over P85 Metro Manila minimum wage hike

Published Jun 30, 2026 03:07 pm

At A Glance

  • TUCP rebukes DOLE Secretary Tolentino for calling the P85 wage increase "historic", saying it is inadequate amid inflation and delivered only in tranches.
  • The labor group pushes for a legislated P200 nationwide wage hike, criticizing the regional wage board system as broken and ineffective in lifting workers from poverty.
  • TUCP highlights Tolentino's absence at the House hearing on the P200 wage bill and stresses that millions of workers outside Metro Manila remain left waiting.
The House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Party-list rebuked Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Francisco "Tol" Tolentino on Tuesday, June 30 for describing as "historic" the P85 minimum wage increase for Metro Manila workers.
According to TUCP, calling the increase as such is grossly inadequate in the face of the collapse in workers' purchasing power.
Add to this the fact that the increase will be released in tranches, forcing workers to wait months before receiving the full amount.
Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito Mendoza represents TUCP in the House of Representatives in the current 20th Congress.
"Ang tunay na 'historic' sa umentong ito ay hindi ang laki nito kundi ang kapal ng mukhang tawagin itong makasaysayan. Wala pang P100 ang idinagdag sa sweldo ng manggagawa matapos silang mawalan ng daan-daang pisong halaga ng kanilang sahod dahil sa inflation," said the party-list.
(The real ‘historic’ aspect of this increase is not its size but the audacity to call it historic. Less than P100 was added to workers’ wages after they lost hundreds of pesos in value due to inflation.)
"Mas masahol pa, utay-utay pa itong ibibigay na para bang limos na kailangang pagtiisan at paghintayin pa ang manggagawa ng ilang buwan. Hindi ito dahilan para magpasalamat kundi dahilan para mas magalit na lalong ipaglaban ang P200 pambansang dagdag-sahod sa Kongreso at Senado," it added.
(Worse, it will be given in tranches, as if charity that workers must endure and wait months for. This is not a reason to be thankful but a reason to be angrier and fight harder for the P200 national wage increase in Congress and the Senate.)
Tolentino made the announcement Tuesday, just as the House Committee on Labor and Employment conducted its first hearing on the legislated P200 nationwide wage increase.
The hearing ended with the solons agreeing to continue deliberations after President Marcos' State of the Nation Address (SONA) next month to finalize a substitute bill for committee approval and eventual plenary consideration.
Conspicuously absent was Tolentino, but TUCP believes it knows why the official no-showed.
"Ngayon malinaw na kung bakit hindi dumalo si Sec. Tolentino sa pagdinig ng Kongreso. Sa halip na makiisa sa paghahanap ng tunay na solusyon sa mababang sahod, mas pinili niyang ipagtanggol at ipagbunyi ang sistemang regional wage board na ilang dekada nang bigong maiahon ang manggagawa sa kahirapan," TUCP said.
(Now it is clear why Sec. Tolentino did not attend the congressional hearing. Instead of joining the search for real solutions to low wages, he chose to defend and celebrate the regional wage board system that for decades has failed to lift workers out of poverty.)
The party-list noted that millions of workers from other areas particularly in Visayas and Mindanao have no choice but to wait.
"Hanggang kailan ba dapat tanggapin ng manggagawa na ang kanilang karapatan sa disenteng sahod ay nakadepende sa kanilang ZIP code? Kung ang pinakamataas na wage board increase na maipagmamalaki ay P85 lamang, at hulugan pa, lalo lamang nitong pinatutunayan na sira na ang sistemang ito," it added.
(How long must workers accept that their right to decent wages depends on their ZIP code? If the highest wage board increase to boast of is only P85, and in installments at that, it only proves this system is broken.)

Related Tags

wage hike minimum wage DOLE Francis Tolentino TUCP Party-list Raymond Democrito Mendoza
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