ILOILO City — The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas will determine later this month whether extraordinary economic conditions are sufficient to justify granting a new wage increase before the expiration of the one-year prohibition on entertaining fresh wage petitions.
The RTWPB has scheduled a dialogue on July 26 with wage petitioners to determine whether a “supervening event” exists that would legally allow the board to issue another wage order before Nov. 17, 2026, when the one-year ban period lapses.
The petitions were filed by the Iloilo Doctors Hospital Employees Union and the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN), both seeking to raise the region’s minimum daily wage for private sector workers to P800 from the current P550, equivalent to a P250 daily increase.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional director Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr., who also chairs RTWPB, said should the board determine that a supervening event indeed exists, it will proceed with consultations and public hearings involving both employers and employees before deciding on any wage adjustment.
Rodriguez stressed that it is still too early to speculate on either the outcome of the dialogue or the possible amount of any wage increase.
He explained that scheduling the dialogue is simply part of the board’s responsibility after receiving the wage petitions.
“We have to act on it but as to whether we will issue a wage order, it will depend on the reaction of other party like the employers kung talagang kailangang-kailangan na magbigay ng wage increase. It is not for us to determine as to how much muna ang ibibigay, as of now kasi wala pa tayong proper hearing,” Rodriguez explained.
Despite the legal restrictions, Rodriguez noted that Western Visayas has historically implemented wage increases almost every year, making another adjustment before the end of 2026 a possibility amid growing nationwide calls for higher wages.
Rodriguez also welcomed the implementation of an P85 daily wage increase in the National Capital Region, describing it as a positive indication that regional wage boards are beginning to respond to mounting demands for higher salaries across the country.
“That is just a signal na mayroon ng board na nag-act ng petition for wage increase but we have to understand na ‘yong NCR kasi ay nag-lapse na ang one year ban period nila. In Region 6 , on November 17 pa, so wala pa one year. We know for a fact na ang wage board ay hindi aaksyonan ang mga wage petition filed before the one year period, except for a supervening event,” Rodriguez said.
Western Visayas is currently implementing Wage Order No. RBVI-28, which took effect on Nov. 17, 2025.
The order raised the daily minimum wage to P513 for non-agricultural establishments employing more than 10 workers, P485 for those employing 10 workers or fewer, and P480 for agricultural workers. Domestic workers currently receive a minimum monthly wage of P6,000 under Wage Order No. RBVI-DW-06./PN
