Luke Espiritu wants minimum wage hiked by P750

Labor leader Atty. Luke Espiritu on Wednesday slammed the supposed “starvation wages” in the country, saying that he will push for an additional P750 on top of the prevailing minimum wage if elected senator in the 2025 midterm elections.

Espiritu, national president of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, lamented that the wages in the Philippines are below the poverty threshold, meaning that even if an average person works for eight hours a day, they will still be below the poverty line.

“Hindi kailangan na ikaw ay jobless o unemployed para maging below the poverty line ka. Dito sa Pilipinas, maging manggagawa ka lang, below the poverty line ka. And that is an anomaly. Kapag employed ka na magugutom ka, that is really an anomaly,” he said on Super Radyo dzBB’s “Ikaw na Ba? The Senatorial Interviews.”

(You don't need to be jobless or unemployed to be below the poverty line. Here in the Philippines, even if you’re a worker, you are below the poverty line. And that is an anomaly. When you are employed yet you still get hungry, that is really an anomaly.)

“Sa matagal na panahon, ganyan starvation wages, we really have to give our workers 'yung sweldo naman na mabubuhay siya and that is P1,200, ayon sa computation na conservative, a day. Now, if we add P750 sa mga prevailing minimum wages, halimbawa dito sa NCR na P645 na ‘yan ang pinakamataas…kahit papaano ay maaabot mo ‘yung P1,200,” he added.

(We have starvation wages for a long time now, and we really need to give the workers a liveable salary, and that is P1,200 per day, based on conservative computations. Now, if we add P750 to the prevailing minimum wages, for example here in NCR which is the highest of all regions at P645, somehow we’ll be able to reach the P1,200 target.)

The House of Representatives on Monday approved on second reading the bill seeking a P200 increase of the daily wage of workers in the private sector, regardless of their employment status.

House Bill No. 11376 or the “Wage Hike For Minimum Wage Workers Act” also provides that small enterprises may avail of incentives from the Department of Labor and Employment that help them comply with the wage increase.

Despite this, several business groups have expressed concern over the proposed P200 daily minimum wage increase, warning of its potential impact on costs and competitiveness.

For his part, Espiritu believes that business groups would complain no matter how much the minimum wage hike calls would be.

“Magrereklamo sila sa P200 pero any amount talaga, sa totoo lang, magrereklamo naman sila. Kasi generally, ayaw talaga nila na itaas ang sweldo ng mga manggagawa. They want our wages to be kept na starvation wages,” he said.

(They are complaining about the P200 daily minimum wage increase but in reality, they would complain about any amount. Because generally, they really don't want to raise the wages of workers. They want the salary to be kept as starvation wages.)

Oil, power industries

Further, Espiritu vowed to push for the regulation of oil and power industries to help consumers struggling with surging fuel prices and electricity rates.

He said that the Oil Deregulation Law should be repealed since the oil industry is invested with public interest, and therefore should be regulated.

“Kapag hindi na-regulate ‘yan, kabit-kabit ang mga problemang malilikha niyan. Kapag tumaas ang petrolyo, kapag tumaas ang langis, tataas ang presyo, tataas ang cost of production, talagang bubulusok ang ekonomiya, bubulusok ang  kabuhayan. So dapat, ang gobyerno, nire-regulate niya ang oil industry,” Espiritu said.

(If the oil industry is not regulated, there will be succeeding problems that will occur. When petroleum and fuel prices increase, the cost of production will increase, and then the economy and livelihood of the people will suffer. So the government should really regulate the oil industry.)

Under Republic Act No. 8479 or the Downstream Industry Deregulation Act, government control is removed to help oil companies become more competitive with their supply and pricing of petroleum products.

Moreover, Espiritu said he also wants to scrap the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

He said that the power industry should also be regulated, as it has become a “natural monopoly” and prices are being subject to manipulation.

“How can you introduce competition as being a solution to prices sa isang industriya ng mga natural monopoly? Pagka merong power producer diyan, wala namang ibang napagbibilhan kundi sila. Tapos nagkakaroon pa ng kuntsabahan ang power distributor at saka ang power generator,” he said.

(How can you introduce competition as being a solution to prices in an industry of natural monopolies? When there are power producers, there is no one else to buy but them. Then the power distributor and then the power generator also conspire.)

Enacted in 2001, EPIRA, a landmark pro-market reform, aims to ensure reliable and competitively priced electricity in the country. Among its salient features is the division of the electric power industry into four sub-sectors—generation, transmission, distribution, and supply—to ensure a level-playing field among players in the energy sector.

Confidential funds

Espiritu also aired his sentiments about the controversial confidential and intelligence funds, saying that it should be barred from government agencies that have no direct involvement in intelligence gathering.

He said even the Office of the President (OP), as well as the Office of the Vice President (OVP) should not be exempted from this. He described the allocation of CIF to civilian agencies as “absurd.”

“Tanggalin 'yan do’n sa mga ahensya na hindi naman involved sa intelligence gathering at walang paggagamitan ng mga confidential funds,” he said.

(Remove that from agencies that are not involved in intelligence gathering and do not use confidential funds.)

Data from Commission on Audit’s (COA) Annual Financial Report revealed that the OP was the top CIF spender for 2023 with a combined P4.56 billion.

It was followed by the Justice Department with P683,853,000, and by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency with P500 million.

COA also noted that the OVP, which was facing congressional inquiries for its confidential fund use, outspent several agencies like the Department of National Defense, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and National Security Council, with a P375 million confidential fund spending in 2023.—AOL, GMA Integrated News

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