Six regions may issue new wage hikes by yearend

House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan said six more regional wage boards are expected to issue minimum wage hike orders before the end of 2025, amid mounting pressure to ease the impact of rising living costs on private sector workers.

“We are counting on the six remaining regional wage boards to promptly raise pay rates and give workers the immediate relief they deserve amid the continuing surge in the cost of living,” Libanan said.

He stressed that delays in action only worsen the situation for low-income earners already burdened by high prices.

“Every week of delay means further erosion of workers’ purchasing power. Our regional wage boards must move decisively,” he added.

As of November 3, 11 of the country’s 17 regional wage boards have approved new wage orders this year, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

The six remaining boards without updated wage orders are in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), MIMAROPA (Region IV-B), Eastern Visayas (Region VIII), Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX), Northern Mindanao (Region X), and Caraga (Region XIII).

The latest wage order came from Western Visayas (Region VI), which approved a PHP 40 increase on October 23, raising the daily minimum wage in the region to PHP 550 effective November 19.

Under the Labor Code, regional wage boards are empowered to review and adjust wage rates motu proprio — even without formal petitions — but are limited to issuing one wage order per 12-month period.

Libanan argued that raising wages is not just an issue of fairness but a strategic move for national economic recovery.

“The country urgently needs wage adjustments to revive household consumption spending, which has been weakened by months of wage erosion caused by sustained price hikes,” he said.

“Boosting household spending is essential if we want to strengthen demand for goods and services, accelerate economic growth, and spur job creation in the months ahead,” he added.

A recent Pulse Asia survey conducted from September 27 to 30 found that increasing workers’ pay ranked as the third most urgent national concern for Filipinos, following inflation control and anti-corruption. Rounding out the top five were criminality and poverty reduction.

The urgency is reinforced by new economic data.

On November 7, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.0 percent in the third quarter of 2025.

The figure marked a slowdown from the 5.5 percent expansion in the second quarter, largely due to weaker household spending, as inflation continued to erode consumer purchasing power.