A pro-labor lawmaker on Wednesday condemned the Employers Confederation of the Philippines as “shameless, heartless, and greedy to the core” for urging President Marcos Jr. to vehemently reject proposals for a legislated wage hike in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) coming 28 July.

Kamanggagawa Rep. Eli San Fernando made the scathing remarks in response to ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr.’s statement that Marcos should explicitly state before Congress that “he does not favor any more legislated wage hikes in the future” amid renewed push for such a bill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“ECOP is giving orders to Malacañang, as if the president is a lapdog to businessmen. They are dictating policy at the direct expense of workers’ dignity and survival,” San Fernando lamented. 

“While millions of Filipinos endure starvation wages, skyrocketing prices, and no job security, Ortiz-Luis wants to slam the door on even the tiniest hope of relief. This is cruelty masquerading as policy,” the neophyte lawmaker continued. 

Ortiz-Luis over the weekend emphasized the need for Marcos to reiterate his strong objection to the legislated wage hike in front of lawmakers, believing that it will leave an impression on proponents that passing such a proposed law would likely be vetoed by Marcos anyway.

His statement came after Akbayan urged Marcos to include the proposed wage hike as part of his priority bills in his SONA amid growing discontent of the public with his government, citing a Pulse Asia survey showing his plummeting performance rating.

Akbayan, along with other proponents of a wage hike, has long pressed Marcos to certify the bill as urgent so that Congress can expedite its passage and prevent it from lapsing, similar to what happened in the previous Congresses. 

The farthest point the proposed wage hike has come was in the recently concluded 19th Congress, when both the House and Senate passed their respective versions of the bill. 

The lack bicam to harmonize the conflicting provisions of the two measures, however, doomed the bill. The House had approved a P200 daily wage hike while the Senate had proposed a P100 increase. 

With neither the House nor the Senate willing to compromise, the measure effectively died along with the adjournment of the 19th Congress.  

Although the bill never made it to Malacañang for the President’s signature, the chances of it becoming a law remain uncertain.

To recall, Marcos had openly expressed reservations about supporting the proposed wage hike, citing its potential economic and inflationary implications and adverse effects on businesses, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for 84 percent of the country’s total employment.

In the same vein, Ortiz-Luis—the voice of the employers group—has also religiously opposed the clamor for a daily salary hike, warning that it would severely impact MSMEs, may lay off workers, or force small businesses to shut down.

Members of the ECOP posit that there is no need for a legislated wage hike as salary adjustments are already being addressed by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB), which Congress itself created under the Wage Rationalization Act (RA 6727). 

The law empowers RTWPB to determine and set the minimum wage rates per region based on key factors such as the cost of living in each area.

San Fernando, however, argued that the RTWPB has long failed to deliver fair and livable wages to workers, especially those outside the National Capital Region, whose daily take-home pay is relatively lower than those in the metro. 

The current daily minimum wage for private workers in Metro Manila is pegged at P695 following the NCR-RTWPB’s approval for a P50 increase on 30 June, which took effect on 18 July.

This is drastically lower than in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which has the lowest minimum wage at P361. 

Nonetheless, both figures are far below the economic think tank IBON Foundation’s estimated daily family living wage of at least P1,200. 

“If the President bows to pressure from ECOP and refuses to support even one peso of wage relief, then it’s clear: ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ is just the same old system that bleeds workers dry while billionaires get richer,” San Fernando concluded.

Lawmakers in previous Congresses had called for the abolition of the RTWPB in favor of a single wage-setting body, citing its failure to effectively deliver reasonable living wages.