Senator Loren Legarda has joined other lawmakers’ call for the immediate lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) that halted the implementation of the ₱85 daily minimum-wage increase in Metro Manila.

Legarda, who is among the senators who introduced Senate Resolution No. 577, which urges the lifting of the TRO and the immediate enforcement of Wage Order No. NCR-27, reiterated that 1.1 million workers should not be made to bear the cost of a legal challenge filed by two companies.

“Hunger, rent, transportation fares, electricity bills, and medication won’t wait. For every day that the wage increase is withheld, workers are forced to incur debt, cut back on their food budget, or put off buying medicine. The TRO must be lifted immediately, and the wage order for Filipino workers must be implemented,” Legarda said.

The senator maintained that while the legal proceedings may continue, the daily needs of workers cannot be put on hold indefinitely.

“Workers report for duty and work every day. It is only right that the wages set for them be paid on time,” she pointed out.

In filing SRN 577, Legarda cited the 1987 Constitution and Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act, which created the tripartite wage-setting system and prohibits courts from issuing injunctions against wage orders.

Legarda noted that Wage Order No. NCR-27 which took effect on July 25, 2026 was done in consultations among labor, employers and government. The order grants an initial P60 increase, while the second tranche of P25 is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 20, 2027.

Once fully implemented, the minimum wage in NCR will rise to P780 for the non‑agriculture sector and P743 for agriculture, service, retail establishments, and manufacturing establishments that regularly employ fewer than ten workers.

But on July 30, 2026, the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 152 issued a TRO suspending the wage order following a petition filed by Readycon Trading and Construction Corporation and R‑II Builders, Inc.

Senators warned that the TRO sets a dangerous precedent, allowing the wages of millions of workers who live paycheck to paycheck to be held in abeyance because of the opposition of a few.

“The law provides a clear process for anyone questioning a wage order. It is unjust that while two companies pursue their legal remedies, over a million workers are deprived of a wage increase. Their arguments can be heard without passing the burden of the legal proceedings onto the workers,” Legarda said.

The ₱85 increase, while insufficient to cover the full increase in the cost of living, represents actual income that workers have already factored into their food, transportation, utilities, rent, education, and healthcare expenses, the lawmaker noted.

“The additional ₱85 is not enough to cover all of a family's needs, but it is a significant loss when withheld or delayed,” she said.