THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday, July 31, 2026, insisted on the validity of the wage order issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) and vowed to fight the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by a Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
In an interview, Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino assured the workers’ sector that the department would respond to the petition filed against NCR Wage Order 27, which mandates an P85 wage hike for minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.
“We are cooperating, and we are coordinating with the Office of the Solicitor General to argue that this latest wage order is valid, and that we followed the process,” said Tolentino.
Tolentino added that their actions were a response to the needs of workers while taking into account the capacity of employers.
“We did this for the sake of Filipino workers… all of this is for the welfare of both the workers and the employers,” said Tolentino.
RTWPB-NCR chairperson Sarah Mirasol said the wage order was issued after the wage board adhered to due process.
“We discussed the different positions, comments of labor, the employers, as well as the government. We are confident in the fact that we followed due process, and we followed the process as provided in the guidelines for minimum wage fixing,” said Mirasol in a separate interview.
Under Wage Order NCR-27, the RTWPB-NCR granted a P85 minimum wage increase in Metro Manila to be implemented in two tranches. The first tranche of P60 was supposed to take effect on July 25, while the second tranche of P25 will take effect on January 20, 2027.
Subsequently, Readycon Trading and Construction Corporation and R-11 Builders Inc. sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the wage hike before the Pasig RTC.
Pasig RTC Branch 152 issued the TRO against the implementation of the NCR wage order late Thursday, July 30.
Labor groups’ condemnation
For its part, the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (Nagkaisa) slammed the issuance of the TRO against the NCR wage order.
In a statement, Nagkaisa said the TRO is unacceptable, as workers have long sought an adjustment in their daily wages amid the soaring prices of basic commodities.
“The TRO delays relief for millions of minimum wage earners, who have already waited too long for a modest wage increase amidst soaring prices of food, electricity, transport, and housing,” said Nagkaisa.
“Workers cannot eat TROs. Families cannot survive on injunctions,” it added.
The group also said the issuance of the TRO is contrary to the provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines.
It said Article 124 of the Labor Code provides that any party aggrieved by a wage order may appeal before the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), and that the filing of such an appeal does not stay the implementation of the wage order.
“The Labor Code is unequivocal. Congress vested wage-fixing authority in the RTWPBs and provided a special and exclusive remedy: appeal to the NWPC and not through an original action before the Regional Trial Court,” said the group.
“This is not a mere error of judgment. When the law is elementary, explicit, and even quoted in the very order being issued, ignoring it raises serious questions of gross ignorance of the law,” added Nagkaisa.
Tolentino, meanwhile, called on workers to remain calm while awaiting the outcome of the pending case.
“Let us remain calm for now. Let us await for the outcome of the decision by a co-equal branch,” said Tolentino. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
