Your Honor, ‘Maghunos dili po kayo!’

After decades of trying and failing to appease labor unions by inserting itself in the wage determination process, Congress now appears set on dismantling one of its longstanding reforms: the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board or RTWPB.

By proposing to abolish these boards and reclaim its wage-setting power, Congress risks undoing a system that has served the country with relative efficiency, technical grounding and regional responsiveness for over three decades.

At first glance, the intent may seem noble — granting workers across the nation uniform wage increases to cope with rising inflation and poverty. But this move reflects more political theater than sound policy. It revives a failed, centralized approach, which is a slow and deliberative process in a bicameral Congress and overlooks the logic behind the landmark Republic Act (RA) 6727, or the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989.

As a backgrounder, the rationale for RA 6727 was to correct the limitations of legislated wages. Before RA 6727, minimum wage rates were set by Congress through national legislation. This approach had two main flaws: it was too slow and inflexible, and it ignored regional diversities in cost of living and productivity across regions.

RA 6727 corrected this imbalance by delegating the wage-setting authority to regional boards when it introduced the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB). These boards were tasked with determining minimum wage rates based on REGIONAL socio-economic realities, such as: poverty thresholds, cost of living, employment levels, business capacity to pay, and productivity. This recognized that a meaningful wage policy must be both equitable and sustainable.

It also aimed to strike a balance between fair wages and jobs preservation, to reduce political influence, and promote social dialogue as each of the 17 RTWPBs (including in the CAR and BARMM) is a tripartite body with government, labor and employers as members.

More, they ensure REGIONAL minimum living standards by setting minimum wage floors that evolve with economic conditions while allowing enterprises flexibility based on REGIONAL viability. These boards are mandated not only to set wages but also to promote productivity and competitiveness in their regions by making it REGIONALLY sensitive, technically sound, tripartite-driven, and more efficient in contrast to the national, politicized, and rigid wage fixing by Congress.

Congress has more than a dozen justifications to reclaim its authority from the RTWPBs but probably the real intention is to recover its lost power, prestige, patronage and “pogi” (brownie) points.

Since its creation, the RTWPBs remarkably performed their wage-setting duty as culled from the websites of the DoLE, NWPC, and other journals. The boards issued hundreds of wage orders that were often more responsive to inflation and economic disruptions than national legislation ever could be. In fact, several boards issued synchronized increases in 2023-2025, showing a degree of coordination despite their regional autonomy.

Contrast this with Congress’ track record. From 1936 to 1989, wage adjustments through legislation were sporadic, reactive, and often delayed. During martial law, wage adjustments required presidential decrees. Even under democratic rule, the passage of wage laws was inconsistent. Today, the Philippine Congress processes about 10,000 to 15,000 bills per term, but only about 2-3 percent become law.

Taking back from RTWPBs the power to set minimum wages is a political pantomime to impress the affected four million, or eight percent, of 50 million workers in the formal sector, not to mention the more than 20 million workers in the informal sector who are not beneficiaries but victims of any increases in the minimum wage.

Expectedly, wage bills in Congress face steep odds. Competing priorities, including national security, tax reform, education, infrastructure, and digital transformation, crowd out more technical labor policies. Wage hikes, if subjected again to national legislation, would become hostage to political timing, lobbying, and the legislative calendar.

Uniform national wage hikes can only harm the very people they aim to help. In regions where business margins are already thin, such increases could lead to closures and layoffs, especially of micro and small enterprises. The regional boards, by contrast, can tailor wage adjustments to what local businesses can afford while ensuring a minimum standard of living for workers.

Reclaiming the wage-setting power, while seemingly populist, disregards the very principle of decentralization, evidence-based governance, and social dialogue that RA 6727 embodies.

Congress must be reminded of the great wisdom in enacting RA 6727 as described in ancient Greek philosophy — PHRONESIS, which refers to judgment based on experience, balance, and real-world understanding.

Congress’ crude attempt to abolish the RTWPBs will cause greater harm as it offers false hopes and promises to the workers it wants to help. Instead, Congress should strengthen the RTWPBs, invest in better data collection, improve transparency, and ensure that board members are truly representative and technically competent.

If the boards fall short in some areas, the solution is not abolition but reform and capacity-building. Centralized wage setting is not progress but regression. It risks turning the function into a blunt political tool instead of a calibrated policy instrument.

Your honor, listen to the old adage, “Maghunos Dili” (don’t be rash or hasty) before filing.