By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is committed to improving the welfare of the country’s workforce following the adjustment in the daily minimum wage for Metro Manila workers, Malacañang said.
In a Palace press briefing Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the P50 wage increase in Metro Manila is just one of the government interventions to give Filipino workers a more comfortable life.
“Kung nagbigay po ngayon ang Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board ng P50 na wage hike, iyan po ang na-evaluate na maaaring ibigay sa ating mga manggagawa para maibsan po ang kahit kaunting hirap. Lumalabas po ito ay P1,300 per month,” Castro said.
“Noon pa po natin sinasabi, gumagawa po talaga ng programa ang Pangulong Marcos Jr. para sa ikagagaan ng buhay ng bawat manggagawang Pilipino,” she added.
The wage hike is expected to benefit around 1.2 million workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Monday.
On top of the wage hike, the government has also provided 170,000 jobs for Filipinos through job fairs held from 2022 to May 1, 2025, Castro said.
She added that the $27 billion worth of investments in the country have also created 350,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, Castro stressed that the government would also study the feasibility of the proposed P200 across-the-board daily salary increase for minimum wage workers.
“Muli, pag-aaralan ito kung kakayanin ba talaga kasi kung magdudulot naman ito ng layoff dahil hindi kakayanin ng karamihang maliliit na mga negosyante, mas marami pong mahihirapang mga manggagawa dahil baka mawalan sila ng trabaho,” she said.
“Kaya po, itong lahat ng ito ay pag-aaralan para sa ikabubuti po ng lahat.”
