CALLS for a P150 wage hike echoed during the conduct of protest action of different progressive groups ahead of the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, July 22, 2024.
Protesters, which include members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, National Wage Coalition (NWC), Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Gabriella and Kilusang Mayo Uno, among others, slammed the administration of Marcos for the imposition of the P35 daily salary hike for minimum wage earners in the National Capital Region (NCR).
In an order signed on June 27 the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) set the new minimum wage rate for nonagricultural to P654 from P610, and P608 from 573 for agriculture, service and retail establishment employing 15 workers or less and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers.
The NWC said the wage hike is not responsive to the current needs of Filipino families.
They demanded the passage of the proposed measure seeking a P150 salary increase for all the workers in the private sector across the country.
“To sound relevant, the President has to decisively deal with the most urgent concerns of Filipinos: controlling inflation and increasing the take-home-pay of workers. Absent these, the state of the nation in his third Sona will neither be sound nor improving,” the group said.
It cited a recent Pulse Asia survey where it was found that inflation, wage hike and creating more jobs remain as top concerns of Filipinos.
The group said that despite the contribution of the working class to build the wealth of the country, they are “undervalued” through stagnant, starvation and poverty wages that fail to ensure a life of dignity or even daily survival for them as well as their family.
“As food, cost or services and electricity inflation continue to surge, it is only fair and just that the legislated wage hike be certified as a priority measure to uplift the lives and livelihood of every Filipino working family,” it added.
From Philcoa where they gathered, the groups, unfazed by the rain, marched toward Tandang Sora to continue their program.
They also burned the effigy of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte, symbolizing the feud between their families as they “vie for power and influence while the rest of the nation is mired in poverty.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed police personnel in Tandang Sora, forming a human barricade to keep the anti-government protesters within their designated area.
In an interview with reporters, PNP Chief General Rommel Marbil, who conducted an inspection of security operations in the vicinity of Batasang Pambansa where Marcos will deliver his Sona, ordered his men to observe maximum tolerance against protesters.
He said maximum tolerance will be observed until a police officer gets hurt.
"Maximum tolerance will be observed but it has a limit once a police officer is hurt. If a rallyist is hurt, they file complaints against the police. What about us? If we get hurt, we can't file complaints? No. we fill cases should this happen," Marbil said.
He also directed National Capital Region Police Office Director Major General Jose Melencio Nartatez to file civil and criminal cases once police officers get hurt in the line of duty during the Sona. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)