With Pinoys’ need for P42-k a month, econ managers urged to back P750 minimum wage law

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate on Thursday urged the government's economic managers to stop blocking the workers' call to legislate a P750-national minimum wage.

Zarate made the call after Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia that a family of five needs at least P42,000 a month to live a decent life and not P10,000 as earlier announced.

"Sa inilibas nilang datos na ito, halatang kulang ang sahod nang kalakhan ng mga manggagawa pero bakit hinaharang pa din ng mga economic managers ang House Bill 7787 o ang P750 national minimum wage bill?" Zarate said in a statement.

In a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido on Tuesday, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said P10,000 is enough for a family to live in a month.

But in a dzRH interview, Pernia said that it is simply impossible for a family of five to live comfortably with just P10,000 a month, saying that it is not even close to half of P21,000 monthly salary exempted from income tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

"Dapat mga P42,000 a month ‘yon, may pagkasapat na ‘yon at komportable para sa isang pamilya," he said.

NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon also clarified that the P10,000 a month budget was only a "hypothetical figure" to demonstrate how a family of five can apportion the money for certain commodities.

Zarate said that even if the P750-national minimum wage bill is enacted into law, it would not even come to half of the P42,000 that a family of five needs every month to live decently.

"But this would at least give the needed relief from the surging prices of goods induced mainly, among others, by the TRAIN law," he said.

The progressive lawmaker also urged the Congress leadership to fast-track the review and repeal of the anti-poor provisions of the TRAIN Law instead of tacking its second package.

"Dapat itigil na ng mga Duterte administration economic managers ng administrasyon ang pagtatanggol pa sa TRAIN Law at huwag na nilang harangin ang P750 national minimum wage bill, kung hindi ay pihadong tatamaan ang mga kandidato ng administrasyon ang galit ng mamamayan sa susunod na eleksyon," he said. —NB, GMA News