‘BALANCING ACT’: Western Visayas wage board approves PHP 40-45 daily hike

ILOILO CITY — The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-6 (RTWPB-6) has approved a PHP 40 to PHP 45 daily minimum wage increase for private-sector workers, citing the need to protect workers’ livelihoods while keeping businesses financially viable amid economic pressures.

Under Wage Order No. 30, the daily minimum wage for agricultural workers will increase by PHP 45, from PHP 520 to PHP 565.

Workers in the non-agricultural sector employed by establishments with more than 10 workers will receive a PHP 40 daily increase, raising their minimum wage from PHP 550 to PHP 590.

Workers in non-agricultural establishments with 10 or fewer employees will also receive a PHP 40 daily increase, from PHP 525 to PHP 565.

Domestic workers, or kasambahays, will receive a PHP 500 monthly increase, raising their minimum wage from PHP 6,500 to PHP 7,000.

Based on the rates in the wage order, the increases amount to about 8.7 percent for agricultural workers, 7.3 percent for non-agricultural workers in larger establishments, 7.6 percent for those in smaller establishments, and 7.7 percent for kasambahays.

The new wage rates will cover private-sector workers in Western Visayas, including Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.

RTWPB-6 Chairperson Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr. confirmed to the Daily Guardian that the board approved Wage Order No. 30 on Oct. 21 and submitted it to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) on Oct. 22 for review and reaffirmation.

“The NWPC will look into the wage order to determine whether it complies with the formal and substantive requirements of the law,” Rodriguez said.

Regional wage boards set minimum wages for their areas under Republic Act No. 6727, or the Wage Rationalization Act.

Rodriguez said RTWPB-6 complied with the wage review requirements, including eight consultations with the public and stakeholders and four public hearings.

On Oct. 20, the board held the fourth and final leg of its 2026 public hearings on the minimum wage adjustment in Malay, Aklan.

Despite appeals from employer groups to defer a wage increase, Rodriguez said the board decided to issue a new wage order to protect workers while ensuring businesses could continue operating.

“We have considered inflation [and] peso purchasing power. Of course, we have to respect the capacity of employers to pay. The strong basis for issuing this order is that it represents a job-preserving balance tailored to the specific economic conditions of Western Visayas and Negros,” Rodriguez said.

He said the wage adjustment was based on data and consultations with resource persons from concerned government agencies.

“This is data-driven and was studied. We invited resource speakers from concerned agencies, which is why our decision is evidence-based and transparent,” he said.

Rodriguez said the new wage order is expected to take effect by mid-November, after the NWPC completes its review and the order is published, subject to the required procedures.

“There is no effective date yet, but we have already signed it, and it is subject to reaffirmation by the NWPC. If it is approved by the secretary, he might come here to announce the formal issuance of the wage order,” he said.

“As soon as we receive the document, we will publish it immediately, and it will take effect 15 days after publication,” he added.

The NWPC is an agency attached to the Department of Labor and Employment and is chaired by the labor secretary.

The board last issued a wage order on Oct. 23, 2025.