Latest news with #JoelVillanueva
GMA Network
02-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Senators push for another wage hike in 20th Congress
Several senators have again filed legislative measures for the 20th Congress seeking to increase the minimum wage of Filipino workers. Among the 10 priority bills of Senator Joel Villanueva, which he filed on Monday, was the Living Wage Act, which aims to fairly adjust the minimum wage set by each regional wage board to provide a decent life for workers. 'At the end of the day, we wanted to make sure na 'yung batayan ay living wage. Ang batayan ay hindi lang basta itaas ang sweldo, kundi doon sa batayan na magkakaroon naman ng disenteng buhay 'yung ating mga manggagawa,' Villanueva said. (At the end of the day, we wanted to ensure that the basis is a living wage. The goal is not just to increase the salary but to base it on a standard that would provide our workers a decent life.) Seasoned senator Loren Legarda also included the Living Wage Act as one of her top 10 bills. Meanwhile, Senator Bong Go filed a bill seeking a P100 across-the-board daily wage hike. He said that the P50 wage increase recently approved for workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) may be 'insufficient' considering the current economic conditions. 'Kulang 'yung singkwenta sa NCR sa totoo lang. Habang tumataas 'yung bilihin ay kulang po 'yung singkwenta. Kaya sana po'y maipasa itong isang daan [piso],' Go said. (That P50 increase in the NCR is not enough, honestly, considering that the price of goods increases. So I hope that the P100 wage increase will be passed.) The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday announced that the NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) issued Wage Order No. 26, which grants a P50 wage hike. This means that at least 1.2 million minimum wage earners in the NCR are set to receive higher salaries next month. Senator Robin Padilla, on the other hand, filed a bill that aims to provide a P150 minimum wage increase for employees and workers in the private sector. Senator Imee Marcos also filed the National Minimum Wage Act on Tuesday. To recall, in the 19th Congress, the proposed legislated minimum wage hike, which was pegged at P200 at the House of Representatives and P100 in the Senate, did not pass into law because the two chambers failed to reconcile them on time. President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. will study if a legislated wage hike would result in layoffs, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said Tuesday. ''Muli, pag-aaralan ito kung kakayanin ba talaga, kasi kung magdudulot naman ito ng lay-off dahil hindi kakayanin nung karamihan maliliit na mga negosyante, mas marami pong mahihirapang mga manggagawa dahil baka mawalan sila ng trabaho,'' Castro said at a briefing. (Again, he will study if this will result in layoffs. If this can't be enforced by small businessmen, many workers might suffer as they may lose their jobs.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
05-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Villanueva concerned P200 wage hike bill might get vetoed
Senator Joel Villanueva has expressed concern regarding the House of Representatives' approval of the bill granting a P200 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers, as it might get vetoed by President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. if adopted by the Senate. The House version of the legislated wage hike offers a higher increase than the P100 approved by the Senate. For Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, the Senate's proposal is more convenient and practical. 'Parang ang tingin natin 'pag nangyari 'yan, diretsong veto. 'Yan ang kailangan din natin pagtuunan ng pansin kung ia-adopt natin 'yan kasi baka 'yan din 'yung dahilan ng iba na nandun sa Kamara para masiguro na ma-veto 'yan,' he told reporters. (I think that it may be directly vetoed by the President. That's what we also need to look at, if we are going to adopt that because some House members may just use that to ensure that the bill will get vetoed.) 'That's another way of looking at it. For us, we still believe [that the] P100 is the most convenient and practical. But 'yung [but for] P200, medyo, as much as we wanted to, we don't know,' he added. The House of Representatives on Wednesday's plenary session approved the bill granting a P200 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers in the private sector on its third and final reading. Villanueva said he wants to see the House's basis for the proposed P200 wage increase. 'Of course, that would be interesting… Kung sabihin ng Malacañang na it's okay for us to, na napag-aralan rin nila, mas malaki 'yung resources nila to study all these measures, so why not. But, at the same time I'm also thinking, baka way din 'yan para immediately shutdown 'yung P100 dahil ibe-veto rin 'yung P200,' he said. (If the Malacañang says it's okay for us to adopt that because it's already been studied, why not. But, at the same time I'm also thinking that it may be a way to immediately shutdown the P100 because the P200 will be vetoed.) The House and the Senate will have to reconcile the differences in a bicameral conference committee before transmitting the enrolled bill to Malacañang for Marco' signature to become a law. The House and the Senate have until June 13 or the last session day of the 19th Congress to reconcile their differing versions of the wage hike measure and ratify the reconciled version for the bill to be ready for the President's signature. Otherwise, the bill has to be refiled next Congress. Malacañang said that Marcos will look into the economic implications of the proposed increase in the minimum wage hike. ''Nais ng Pangulo na maibigay kung ano ang makakabuti sa manggagawang Pilipino,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said during a briefing Thursday. (The President wants to give the best for the Filipino workers.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
