THE Nagkaisa Labor Coalition has asked both the Senate and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “make legacy moves” on the proposed P200 salary increase before the 19th Congress adjourns this week.
“Congress is on the brink of making history—but only if they move fast, as the clock is ticking and workers are watching,” said Nagkaisa spokesperson Renato Magtubo on Monday, June 9, 2025.
In February 2024, the Senate first passed its version of the wage hike bill, Senate Bill (SB) 2534, granting a P100 across-the-board minimum wage increase. The House of Representatives later followed with House Bill (HB) 1137, a version proposing a more substantial P200 increase.
But with Congress adjourning on June 11, the labor group fears that “time is running out to harmonize and ratify the bill.”
“In the Senate, Nagkaisa is calling for the convening of the Senate panel for the bicameral conference to reconcile the P100 to P200 legislated wage hike that has already been approved by both chambers,” Magtubo said in a statement to the media.
“We are calling on the Senate President: form the Senate conferees today. Give the bicam enough time — just one day — to finish its work. Then get the unified bill ratified before the session ends,” Magtubo added.
The labor leader maintained that the proposed wage increase “could be a lifeline for millions of workers reeling from inflation, stagnant wages, and the widening gap between the rich and the poor.”
“To delay is to deny. It would be a shame — no, a betrayal — if Congress lets this chance slip away,” said Magtubo, adding that “failure to act would not be forgotten.”
As this developed, the labor coalition also warned that the 19th Congress and the Senate, under the leadership of Chiz Escudero, “are courting a grand failure if they fail to proceed with both the impeachment trial and the enactment of the wage hike bills.”
The labor coalition and other sectoral groups vowed to continue their daily protest actions in the Senate until the last session day “to press for Duterte’s impeachment trial to proceed and the enactment of the wage hike bill.”
“In the same manner, President Marcos Jr. will lose his chance to prove himself better than the Vice President [Sara Duterte] if he vetoes the wage hike bill,” Magtubo said. (Ronald Reyes/SunStar Philippines)