During the Senate deliberations on DOLE’s proposed 2027 budget on Wednesday, September 30, Go asked Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino to clarify the status of Wage Order No. NCR-27, which provided for an ₱85 increase to be implemented in two tranches.
“Kung tutuusin, ₱85 na nga lang po ito, mas mababa pa kumpara sa isinusulong nating ₱100 wage increase. Ano na po ang nangyari dito at ano ang update nito, Mr. Secretary?” Go asked.
Wage Order No. NCR-27 provided for an ₱85 increase to be implemented in two phases. Its implementation, however, became the subject of several court cases.
Tolentino told Go during the hearing that Wage Order No. 27 was facing five cases at different levels of the judiciary, including proceedings in Pasig and Navotas as well as cases pending before appellate courts.
“Lahat pong ito ay hindi po namin alam kung kailan matatapos isa-isa,” Tolentino said, adding that DOLE also could not predict how the cases would ultimately be resolved.
With the ₱85 wage adjustment caught in the legal process, Tolentino explained that the NCR wage board proceeded with another wage order under the prescribed wage-setting process.
Wage Order No. NCR-28 subsequently granted a ₱60 daily increase effective September 26. OrderCalendars
Tolentino clarified during the hearing that the newer ₱60 order was computed from Wage Order No. NCR-26, the wage order in force before the legal controversy surrounding NCR-27.
“So, yung mga nagtatanong bakit bumaba, wala pong ibinaba kasi yung pong 26 ang umiiral. So from 26 na ₱695 napadagdag po yang ₱60, ay yun po ay naging ₱755,” Tolentino explained.
Go has separately filed Senate Bill No. 175, which proposes an across-the-board ₱100 daily minimum wage increase for private-sector workers nationwide.
During the hearing, Go maintained that wage increases should ultimately translate into meaningful relief for ordinary workers, particularly those whose earnings are largely consumed by everyday necessities.
He also appealed to large businesses that have the financial capacity to provide better compensation to share more of their gains with their employees.
“At parati ko ngang sinasabi sa malalaking negosyante, kung malaki naman po ang inyong kita, kung hindi naman po masakit sa inyo, sana po’y ipamahagi nyo na lang po ito lalung-lalo na po sa mga maliliit na manggagawa na isang kahig, isang tuka lang po ang kanilang kinikita,” Go said.
Senator Bong Go
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