Makabayan bloc, allied groups call on House to approve wage hike bills

The Makabayan Coalition in the House of Representatives and allied groups are calling on the House leadership to immediately approve bills on legislated wage hike.

They made the call on Wednesday, the last session day before Congress goes on sine die adjournment before returning on July 22 for the State of the Nation Address.

“Napapanahon ang salary increase dahil alam naman natin ang mga pangangailangan ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino sa ngayon. Patuloy na nagtataasan ang mga bilihin, ang presyo ng yutilidad,” ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro said at a press conference.

(A salary increase is timely because we know the needs of every Filipino family nowadays. The prices of goods and utilities continue to go up.)

Pending before the House Committee on Labor and Employment are various proposed measures for, among others, a P150 across the board increase nationwide and Makabayan’s P750 increase for all private sector workers.

“Kailangan pa ba itong pagdebatihan nang napakatagal? Sa Senado, na-approve na nila 'yung P100 salary increase across the board,” Castro added.

(Does this still need to be debated a long time? At the Senate , the P100 salary increase across the board has already been approved.)

Kabataan Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel is worried that if wages do not improve, more young Filipinos will seek jobs abroad.

“Lalo lamang mai-instill sa kanilang mga isipan na para mabuhay sila nang kahit disente lang eh, hindi pa 'yung sobrang marangyang buhay, kailangan nilang mangibang-bansa para makuha 'yung mas mataas na sahod. Ayaw po natin na magpatuloy ang ganitong sitwasyon sa ating bansa na ganito ang labor situation na ipapamana natin sa mga kabataan,” Manuel said.

(This will just instill in the minds of people that in order for them to have decent lives, not luxurious lives, they need to work abroad to get higher salaries. We do not want this situation to continue in our country, that this is the labor situation we will pass on to the youth.)

“Maraming mga batas na nai-file at na-hear na naman at mabilis na nakarating sa plenaryo. Kaya parang kung meron mang priority na pupuwedeng gawin ngayon at may time pa, ito po 'yung dagdag sahod,” Gabriela Women’s Party-list Representative Arlene Brosas said.

(Many bills filed were already heard and reached the plenary. If there is something that should be prioritized and there is still time to do this, it is this one on wage hike.)

The Partido Manggagawa prefers legislated wgae hike over an order from the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.

“Thirty-four years na po kami nagdurusa sa baryang-baryang umento mula sa Regional Wage Boards. Kaya ang resulta nito, malayong agwat ng minimum wage sa cost of living. Ang resulta nito, maraming naghihirap at patuloy na naghihirap na pamilyang manggagawa,” Partido Manggagawa’s Renato Magtubo said.

(It has been 34 years that we are handed little change from the Regional Wage Boards. The result of this is the wide gap between the minimum wage and cost of living. As a result, many are poor and continue to suffer.)

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino agrees, adding that Congress should immediately pass legislation that will benefit workers.

“Kung napakabilis na noong pagpasa ng Maharlika Funds at saka yung pagtulak ng Cha-cha, ano pa kaya yung sahod kung saan milyon-milyong manggagawang Pilipino ay nangangailangan nito,” Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino’s Luke Espiritu said.

(If the Maharlika Funds [bill] was immediately passed, as well as the Cha-cha, what about the wage hike for millions of Filipino workers who need this?)

They also criticized Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon’s statement that poverty is imagined.

“Sa research survey na ginawa by the end of the year from December 10 to 14, sinabi na 45%, almost similar to 46% obtained in a similar survey conducted by October 2023 na sinasabi ng OCTA, translates to 11.9 million rated themselves as poor. Hindi lang sa usapin ng access sa pera pero sa usapin ng kakayanan para bumili ng kanilang pagkain,” Nice Consolacion of Sentro said.

(In a research survey conducted from December 10 to 14, it says 45%, almost similar to the 46% obtained in a similar survey conducted by October 23 of OCTA, translates to 11.9 million rated themselves as poor. It's not just about the access to money but the ability to buy food.)

“Kung haka-haka lang ang poverty (If poverty is just a figment of the imagination), then why do we have institutions like the Philippine Statistics Authority tracking it? Why do we have financial institutions mismo na kunyari tulad ng ADB na ang mission nga niya is to alleviate poverty? Why do we have programs like NAPC na ang mismo government natin, may plano para i-address ito? Why do we have this? Poverty is very real,” Mark Villena of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines added.

Brosas reiterated their call for Gadon to be removed from his position.

Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation Secretary Larry Gadon on Friday said poverty in the Philippines at present is just "imaginary," citing decreasing poverty rate.

In an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, Gadon also cited the huge volume of people seen in shopping malls and branches of fast food chains, as well as the number of new cars seen on roads.

"Sa totoo lang ‘yang mga nagsasabi na napakahirap ng buhay ngayon ay sila lang ang nagsasabi niyan, haka-haka lang nila 'yan,” he said when asked for his closing message to Filipinos during the interview.

(Actually, those who say that life is very hard today are the only ones saying that, they are only imagining it.) —KG, GMA Integrated News