ILOILO City – Labor organizations in Panay Island have renewed their call for a P1,200 daily minimum wage nationwide, asserting that the current rates are far below the actual cost of living, as Filipinos observed Labor Day today, May 1.
In a joint press conference held on April 29, several cause-oriented groups — including United Labor Panay, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Region VI), KADAMAY-Panay, COURAGE Panay, PISTON Panay, Anakbayan Panay, Alliance of Health Workers Panay, Iloilo Terminal Market Vendors Association, and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) for Panay and Guimaras — urged the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to heed workers’ demands for fair wages and decent employment.
“Our demand is for a living wage — P1,200 per day,” said Bayan Panay Secretary General Elmer Forro. “This amount is based on government estimates of the daily cost of living. Workers should be paid enough to survive and live with dignity.”
Currently, under Wage Order No. RBVI-28 effective November 17, 2024, the minimum wage in Western Visayas is:
* Non-agriculture, more than 10 workers – P513
* Non-agriculture, 10 workers or fewer – P485
* Agriculture sector – P480
Despite these adjustments, labor groups say the increase remains insufficient amid rising inflation, housing costs, and basic necessities.
Apart from wage hikes, the groups also called for:
* an end to contractualization
* protection of livelihoods of jeepney drivers and operators affected by the modernization program
* restoration of income opportunities for displaced small vendors at the Iloilo Central and Super Markets due to ongoing rehabilitation
* accountability for the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and jeepney phaseout program, which they claim led to extrajudicial killings and economic displacement
“Let us hold the Duterte regime accountable, and demand that the Marcos government stop continuing these harmful programs,” Forro said.
Today, May 1, the groups will stage a protest. Assembly is set at 1 p.m. under the flyover in front of the University of the Philippines Visayas – Iloilo City campus, followed by a march to the Iloilo Provincial Capitol for a short program at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 6 director Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr. clarified that no wage increase will be granted this Labor Day.
The current wage order must complete a one-year effectivity period before any adjustment can be considered, he explained.
No formal wage hike petition has been filed in the region so far./PN
