ILOILO City – Businesses in Western Visayas, including Negros Occidental, that cannot afford the impending minimum wage increase may now apply for exemption, but only qualified establishments will be allowed to seek relief from the new wage rates taking effect on November 20.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has begun accepting exemption applications under Wage Order No. RBVI-30, which grants daily wage increases of P40 to P45 for private-sector workers.
Under the new wage order, the daily minimum wage for non-agricultural, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers will rise from P550 to P590, while those with 10 or fewer workers will receive P565, up from P525.
Agricultural workers will receive a P45 increase, raising their daily minimum wage from P520 to P565.
However, the wage board clarified that certain establishments may seek exemption from implementing the increases, subject to eligibility requirements and approval.
These include retail and service establishments regularly employing no more than 10 workers and businesses adversely affected by natural calamities or human-induced disasters.
To qualify, small retail and service establishments must be engaged in selling goods or providing services directly to consumers for personal or household use.
They must also have employed no more than 10 workers for an aggregate period of at least six months within a calendar year.
Disaster-affected establishments, meanwhile, must be located in areas officially declared under a state of calamity pursuant to the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
The calamity must have occurred within six months before the wage order takes effect, or from May 20, 2026 onward.
January 17 deadline
Qualified establishments have until January 17, 2027, to submit their exemption applications, or within 75 days from the wage order’s publication on November 4.
For disaster-related applications, the deadline is 75 days from the official declaration of a state of calamity.
Applicants must submit a notarized letter of intent and an affidavit of undertaking signed by the owner, general manager or chief executive officer.
Disaster-affected establishments must specify their losses, damaged properties and estimated valuations.
Small retail and service establishments must provide the names and number of their employees, their employment duration and a certified true copy of their current business permit issued by the local government unit.
Both categories must establish compliance with the previous Wage Order No. 29 and provide proof that affected workers have been informed of the exemption application.
Workers may oppose applications
The RTWPB also emphasized that workers have the right to oppose exemption applications filed by their employers.
Individual employees or labor unions representing workers in applicant establishments may formally submit their opposition to the wage board.
Employers whose exemption applications are denied must pay their covered workers the corresponding wage increases, plus interest of one percent per month retroactive to the effectivity of the new wage order.
Applications and oppositions may be submitted personally to the RTWPB-6 office at Room 30, third floor, Doña Maria Building, La Castilla, corner E.L. 98 Street, Jaro district, Iloilo City, or through email at rtwpb6@yahoo.com./PN