DOLE pressed: Challenge Pasay court's decision suspending wage hike
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The largest coalition of labor groups pressed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday to move beyond simply expressing frustration and pursue concrete action to lift a Pasig court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) suspending the government-mandated P85 daily wage hike in Metro Manila.
TUCP spokesperson Carlos Miguel Oñate made the remark after DOLE Secretary Francis Tolentino said the department was compelled to comply with the TRO issued by the Pasig Regional Trial Court at the request of two construction firms.
Oñate warned that allowing the courts’ intervention to go unconsted would set a “dangerous precedent” and a “chilling effect” on future wage adjustments.
This is because employers resistant to wage hikes will be empowered to bypass the process by taking the dispute directly to the courts rather than to the Regional Wage Boards, which are mandated to review petitions for wage increases.
“It is clear in our Labor Code and in the Wage Rationalization Act (RA 6727) that the power to set the wage is in the Regional Wage Boards. And if the [employers have complaints, they cannot just go to court,” Oñate said in Filipino in a radio interview.
RA 6727 explicitly prohibits courts from issuing a TRO against wage boards.
“They cannot simply remain disappointed. They must take action and challenge this TRO for the sake of the 1.1 million minimum wage earners whom they have promised a historic wage increase,” Oñate argued.
The TRO, which will be in effect until 13 August, reverted the minimum wage to the previous level pending review of the case.
Before the court-issued TRO, the daily minimum wage for non-agricultural employees in the NCR was raised from P695 to P755. This is because DOLE split the implementation into two tranches, with the P60 increase taking effect on 25 July.
The additional P25 increase was supposed to take effect on 20 January 2027.
Less than a week after it took effect, the Pasay court suspended the P60 wage increase following a petition by Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-11 Builders Inc., which argued that the abrupt surge in labor costs was not factored into pre-existing project bids.
The TUCP also criticized Malacañang for repeatedly claiming that the President lacks the power to intervene, saying Marcos can certify bills as urgent pending legislation seeking a legislated wage increase if he truly wants to do so.
Since assuming office in mid-2022, Marcos has openly expressed reservations about supporting the proposed legislated wage hike, citing its economic and inflationary implications and adverse effects on businesses, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises.
In 2025, shortly after the House of Representatives approved the proposed P200 wage hike, Marcos' economic team warned that the salary increase could stoke inflation by about 2 percentage points and may lead to higher production costs.
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines, the country's biggest trade organization, has also consistently rejected the proposal, raising concerns that it may lead to layoffs or force small businesses to shut down.
This is despite clamor from labor groups that the current wage no longer meets workers' needs amid skyrocketing prices for basic commodities such as food, housing, and transportation.
