Increasing nat’l minimum wage to bring economy down, solon warns

A lawmaker on Monday warned about the dangers of increasing the national minimum wage to P750 as proposed by progressive congressmen, saying that it would be detrimental to the Philippine economy in the long run.

In a media forum, Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves expressed his thoughts on the recently-filed House Bill 7787, filed by the Makabayan Bloc, seeking to increase the national minimum wage to cushion the effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

Teves said he himself had earlier opposed imposing additional excise tax on fuel — which several groups critical of the TRAIN Law have sought to suspend — in order to prevent a ripple effect on other goods and services.

"Kung magmamahal ang fuel, magmamahal lahat. And then doon ko na nakita na kung magmamahal ang lahat, hihingi na naman ang taumbayan ng increase ng sweldo. Once that happens, we will bring down our economy," he said.

Teves said this is because foreign companies who have started their business in the countries will be forced to increase their cost of production. He said this could cause them to leave the country instead of continuing investing here.

"So if we lower our overall production, mamamatay lalo yung ekonomiya natin," he added.

Teves said the better solution to mitigating the effects of the TRAIN Law is finding a way to bring down the prices of goods without decreasing revenue.

"Ang suggestion ko talaga, bago tayo gumawa ng additional tax measure, let us collect first from our [Bureau of] Customs dahil 'yung kulang natin na collection from Customs and BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) is more than enough sa nakukuha natin sa increase in taxation," he explained.

For his part, CIBAC party-list Representative Sherwin Tugna said a P750-national minimum wage is sufficient enough to cover the daily expenses of a Filipino family.

"Para sa akin yung P750 is enough to shoulder. Tama lang yung proposal na yun," he said.

Tugna, however, expressed concern for small and medium enterprises who may not be able to provide the proposed minimum wage for their employees.

"Baka hindi nila kayanin yung ganyang increase considering na naka-tie up din yan sa 13th month pay, yung pagbabayad ng SSS," he said.

He said investors should consider adjusting their profit margin in order to provide for the proposed salary for workers.

The authors of the bill have challenged President Rodrigo Duterte to immediately enact the measure into law.

"Ito rin ang ipinangako ni Pangulong Duterte na tatanggalin ang mga provincial rate at hinahamon namin ang Pangulo na i-materialize yung sinasabi niya sa kampanya na tanggalin ang mga provincial rate. I-certify niya as urgent and priority bill ang House Bill 7787," Anakpawis party-list Representative Ariel Casilao said. —KBK, GMA News