23/09/2025
𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘄
Congress has approved on third and final reading House Bill 10376 or the ‘Wage Hike for Minimum Wage Workers Act of 2025.” Lawmakers say the Act fulfills a long-overdue promise to close the gap between wages and rising cost of living.
Low wages in the country have been cited as one of the reasons Filipinos are forced to work abroad as they are always economically on a disadvantage in their own backyard. Unemployment and underemployment are issues pervasive in the Philippines and the new law to increase by Ph200 daily wage is seen as mitigating measure to somehow decrease the poverty threshold gap.
But underneath these measures are facts that the government has still a long way to go to somehow lessen the gap. Take Vietnam and Thailand for example. Workers in both countries receive lower wages than the Filipinos but the cost of living equates their wages. Electric operations are state-run and food sufficiency is at its highest level. It is therefor ironic that despite low wages in both countries, their standard of living is much higher than ours.
The government is always criticized as wage hikes in the country is seen as inadequate if not shamelessly insulting. How secretive is the profit margins of the employers? Is the Filipino wage earner exploited?
In Cagayan Valley, the Department of Labor and Employment-Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board has set public hearing in September for a possible wage hike for workers who at present receive a daily wage of Ph460 to Ph480.
The purchasing power of the Philippine pesos has never been stable and workers always find it inadequate. It has always been an irritating issue both from workers and employers as it will always be debatable due to various factors affecting socio-economic profiles of most regions in the country.
May the private sector in Region 2 grant an increase of daily wages for our workers. At these trying times, they deserve it.
