Expedite nat’l wage bill passage, House pressed

Four principal authors of the proposed National Minimum Wage Bill on Tuesday urged the House leadership to prioritize the measure for plenary sponsorship and debate following its approval at the committee level.

House Committee on Labor and Employment chairperson and Cavite 1st District Rep. Ramon Jolo B. Revilla III, Albay 3rd District Rep. Adrian E. Salceda, Kamanggagawa Partylist Rep. Elijah “Eli” San Fernando and Pangasinan 5th District Rep. Ramon N. Guico Jr. appealed to Speaker Bojie Dy and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos to calendar the bill at the soonest possible time.

“The committee has done its work. The entire House and its leadership must now act decisively,” San Fernando said, stressing that workers nationwide are closely watching how Congress moves on the measure.

Revilla said the proposed law seeks to correct inequities created by the decades-old regional wage system. “The regionalized wage system is outdated and no longer suited to our times,” Revilla said. “Prices are no longer regional, so wages should not be regional either. It is time to fix that.”

He added that daily living costs are largely the same whether workers live in Metro Manila or the provinces, underscoring the need for a unified wage floor.

Salceda said the measure also has macroeconomic implications. “A stronger wage floor strengthens household purchasing power and supports domestic demand,” he said.