WORKERS RACE AGAINST
RISING PRICES WHILE MARCOS WATCHES F1
Partido
Manggagawa (PM) welcomed the new wage order granting workers in CALABARZON an
increase of up to P45 a day but warned that the adjustment remains far below
what working families need to live decently.
“Every peso
matters to workers struggling to make ends meet. But P45 is hardly enough when
food, electricity, transportation and other basic necessities continue to eat
up a family’s income. Workers deserve more than wages that barely keep them
above water,” said PM Chairperson Renato Magtubo.
Under Wage
Order IVA-23, minimum wages in CALABARZON will rise to P550–P645 starting
October 26, covering approximately 1.56 million workers.
Magtubo pointed
out that the highest minimum wage of P645 is still just half the P1,207 daily
living wage of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance for a Filipino family of five[1].
This leaves a staggering P562 daily gap between what workers earn and what
their families actually need.
Even against
the government’s modest poverty threshold of P14,634 a month, minimum wages
remain inadequate. At 22 working days, P645 translates to only P14,190 monthly,
while P550 amounts to just P12,100, before mandatory deductions.
“The absurdity
is that workers in Cavite, Laguna and Rizal face practically the same high cost
of living as those in Metro Manila, yet the highest minimum wage in CALABARZON
remains P110 lower than NCR’s P755. Geography has become an excuse for paying
workers less,” Magtubo said.
PM also warned
that the recently approved Meralco distribution rate increase threatens to
further squeeze household budgets, potentially wiping out part of the already
meager wage adjustment.
“What workers
gain from a small wage increase can easily disappear into higher electricity
bills and food prices. The government cannot keep celebrating wage adjustments
while allowing the cost of living to outrun workers’ incomes,” Magtubo added.
The labor
leader also criticized the sharp contrast between the daily struggles of
workers and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s attendance at the Formula 1 race
in Singapore, which administration officials defended as an opportunity to
attract investments.
“While the
President watches Formula 1 in Singapore, Filipino workers are running a very
different race—the daily race against hunger, unpaid bills and rising prices.
The government talks about investment opportunities, but where are the
opportunities for workers to earn a decent living?” Magtubo asked.
PM noted that
wage increases across the country’s 17 regions this year have ranged from P20
to P60, averaging just P39, according to NWPC figures. These adjustments are
quickly eroded by inflation and the rising cost of essential services.
“For more than
three decades, the regional wage-setting system has kept minimum wages at
poverty levels in many parts of the country. Instead of closing the gap between
wages and living costs, it has institutionalized regional wage inequality. This
system has failed workers,” Magtubo stressed.
PM reiterated
its demand to abolish the regional wage boards established under Republic Act
6727 and replace the fragmented wage-setting system with a national minimum
wage anchored on the actual cost of living.
“Workers do not
need another round of explanations about why wage increases must remain small.
They need wages that can feed their families, pay their bills and provide a
decent life. A living wage is not a privilege. It is a right,” Magtubo
concluded.
MEDIA RELEASE
11 October 2026
[1] PM
participated in the AFWA survey to calculate the living wage in Asia based on a
3,000 calories daily diet: https://asia.floorwage.org/living-wage/calculating-a-living-wage/
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