Around two in three Filipino families fail to earn a living wage amid inflation and rising oil prices, according to the IBON Foundation.
In an interview, IBON executive director Sonny Africa said nearly 17 million households are estimated to fall below the family living wage threshold.
“Our estimate is that two in three families no longer reach the family living wage,” Africa said.
IBON estimates the national average family living wage for a family of five at P1,312 per day, while the average minimum wage remains at about P510 daily.
Africa attributed the gap to persistent inflation and rising prices of basic goods.
He also argued that recent tax policies have disproportionately benefited large corporations while ordinary workers continue struggling with rising costs.
He cited the CREATE and CREATE MORE laws, which reduced corporate income taxes.
“If the corporate income tax had not been lowered by the CREATE and CREATE MORE laws, the government would have an additional P300 billion in revenue,” Africa said.
Africa added that companies gained roughly P280 billion largely because of reduced tax obligations rather than business expansion.
IBON said the government has avoided lowering consumption taxes because of concerns over the country’s rising debt, which reached P18.49 trillion by the end of March 2026.
Africa said this translates to around P164,000 in debt per Filipino.
He urged the government to suspend value-added and excise taxes on oil products and raise the personal income tax exemption ceiling from P250,000 to P450,000.