Akbayan urges Malacañang and Congress to walk the talk: ceritify as urgent and pass 200-peso wage increase

Akbayan Partylist Representative Perci Cendaña today called on fellow lawmakers to close ranks and fasttrack the passage of a 200 pesos minimum wage increase after House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s support for a legislated wage increase. This came right after a House leaders’ meeting with various labor groups last Tuesday. Cendaña, a coauthor of HB 07871 seeking to raise the minimum wage by 150 pesos, said the Speaker’s support for the measure should be seen as a signal for his colleagues to expedite its passage. He also called on Malacañang to certify a 200 peso wage hike bill as urgent.

“We call on our President to show decisive leadership and certify the bill as urgent,” Rep. Cendaña stressed.

“Filipinos’ perception of Congress, sadly, is very negative. Our people feel it is prone to grandstanding and is a talkshop. Patunayan natin na hindi puro talumpati ang ginagawa ng kongreso, na kaya nating magbigay ginhawa sa pang araw-araw na buhay ng mga Pilipino. Ipasa natin ang 200 pesos wage hike immediately,” according to Cendaña.

The Akbayan lawmaker stressed the urgency of passing a legislated wage hike rather than waiting for the regional wage boards to act on any wage hike petitions.

“Our workers need and deserve a wage hike. They need this substantial increase in income to allow our workers to survive through the successive increase in prices of basic goods. They deserve this wage increase because Filipino workers have delivered last year’s 5.8% GDP growth and a possible 6+% GDP growth this year,” he said.

“They built this economy, they deserve a raise for it,” Cendaña stressed.

The Senate approved last February 2024 a 100 pesos wage hike in the private sector. The last legislated wage hike was in 1989 through the Wage Rationalization Act.