ILOILO — Many workers in Iloilo have welcomed the recently approved minimum wage increase, but a growing number said the adjustment barely made a dent in their daily expenses as inflation and rising prices continue to erode their purchasing power.
The wage hike, approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-6 and took effect last November 19, 2025 raised daily minimum pay across several sectors. However, workers on the ground described the increase as insufficient, warning that higher wages were quickly offset by the steady rise in the cost of fuel, food, utilities, and mandatory contributions.
Under the new wage order, non-agricultural, industrial, and commercial workers in establishments with more than 10 employees received a P37 increase, raising their daily wage from P513 to P550.
Workers in smaller establishments with 10 or fewer employees got a P45 hike, from P485 to P530.
Agricultural workers saw their daily wage rose by P40, from P480 to P520.
Monthly pay for domestic workers, or kasambahay, also increased by P500, from P6,000 to P6,500.
Despite these adjustments, workers said the gains could be short-lived.
Local trisikad driver and part-time construction worker Joemar Buensuceso, 32, of Mandurriao, Iloilo City, said the wage hike lost its value when it coincided with price increases across the board.
“The increase in the minimum wage was okay, but it felt useless because everything went up at the same time. Prices of goods just keep rising, so you still end up struggling,” Buensuceso said in Hiligaynon.
While wage hikes were especially helpful for workers employed through manpower services, renters, fresh graduates, and job seekers, the benefit was quickly cancelled out by inflation, he lamented.
“The prices of gasoline, rice, and daily necessities also increased, so it’s like nothing really changed,” he added.
Another worker, “Inday,” a 56-year-old dispatcher from a jeepney cooperative who asked not to be named, shared a similar sentiment.
“Even if it’s small, it adds a little. But we don’t know — prices of goods might go up again,” she said in Hiligaynon.
Jay Nicolas, 28, a saleslady from Ledesco Village in La Paz, Iloilo City, said the wage increase was further diluted by rising deductions for government-mandated contributions.
“The increase was really small. And when you look at taxes and the big increases in contributions to the SSS (Social Security System), Pag-IBIG, and PhilHealth, what’s left (of our wage) is very little. For workers like us — salesladies and laborers — it doesn’t really help,” Nicolas said in Hiligaynon.
A 40-year-old clothing shop manager, who asked to be identified only as “Anne,” said she would have preferred no wage hike at all if deductions and remittances continue to rise.
Not all workers, however, expressed outright frustration.
Winston Garcia, 32, a salesboy from La Paz, acknowledged that while the increase was modest, it still offered some relief.
“Even if it’s small, it still helps a bit and adds something. The problem is that everything else also went up. There’s nothing we can do about that,” Garcia said.
RTWPB-6 chairperson and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional director Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr. said the wage adjustment was the result of extensive consultations and careful review.
“The review process took time, but it was necessary to ensure that our decisions complied with labor laws and truly reflected the economic conditions faced by our workers,” Rodriguez said./PN
