Lawmakers from Akabayan Partylist urged the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) to lift its issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the mandated wage increase for workers in the National Capital Region, warning that such a decision set a “dangerous precedent” when it came to worker’s rights.

Akbayan Partylist representatives Perci Cendana and Dadah Ismula carried out separate interventions to echo the public’s call to not only question, but to reverse the decision of the RTC as it impacted numerous Filipinos that are attempting to make a living in Metro Manila.

Cendana along with labor leaders headed to the court to submit an intervention with an intent of junking the ruling on Wage Order No. 27 that was meant to implement a staggered P85 wage increase.

Since the issuance of the TRO, numerous lawmakers have argued that the provisional remedy was in violation of Article 126 of the Labor Code wherein it was explicitly stated that no order can be issued against the enforcement of a wage order.

“There is no room for interpretation on this matter. The wage orders came from the regional wage boards, it is also the appropriate venue for appeals, not the RTC,” he said.

Given that the matter was an issue within the judiciary, Cendana urged the Supreme Court to step in and ensure that their judges were kept in check, noting that the high court had administrative supervision of all courts around the country.

He argued that the decision to block the wage order from the justices was a clear act of “disobeying the law.”

Dangerous precedent

In a separate gathering with labor groups, Ismula expressed that the interference when it came to wage orders was going to set a “dangerous precedent” not only for the Philippines, but for all countries.

The Akbayan representative stressed that the blockage on the proposed wage increase was a setback for working-class families that solely relied on paychecks, reiterating that it had no legal basis in relation to the Labor Code.

“They placed a restraining order on an increase that was being saved for children’s tuition. They placed a restraining order on amounts that could be used for daily transportation fares. They placed a restraining order on funds that could be used for food,” she said.

Following the separate movements led by the solons, they urged Congress to act on their proposed measures to provide assistance to members of the working class such as the proposed P200 wage hike that would be implemented nationwide.