BBM to assess economic impact of legislated wage hike

The Marcos administration will assess the economic impact of the P200 wage hike bill approved by the House of Representatives days before the adjournment of Congress.

- By ALEXIS ROMERO

Claire Castro, Presidential Communications undersecretary, said the government would take into account the concerns of stakeholders and all aspects of the measure, which is being pushed by labor groups but opposed by business chambers.

"We will look at the economic implications of these and how to resolve these with the opinion of the wage boards since the wage boards are also the creations of the Congress," Castro quoted President Marcos as saying at a press briefing yesterday.

Asked whether Marcos would sign into law the wage hike bill if it is sent to him, Castro said: "Its economic implications will be looked into, but the President wants to give what is appropriate and more beneficial to Filipino workers."

Voting 171-1 with no abstention, the House of Representatives passed on final reading last Wednesday House Bill 11376, which seeks to provide a P200 across-the-board wage hike - the first approved legislated wage hike in 36 years.

Labor groups hailed the move, saying it would help lift workers out of poverty, but business chamber groups claimed the measure would lead to higher costs of labor, goods and services.

Days before the passage of the wage hike bill at the House, Marcos met with members of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines at Malacañang and assured them that the government would protect the rights of workers. The P200 wage hike bill was not mentioned in the public statements issued by the President and the TUCP after the meeting.

The Senate approved a wage hike bill last year but its version only seeks to raise workers' pay by P100.

Unless they agree to adopt a common version of the bill, the Senate and the House have until June 13 to reconcile the differences of their measures, ratify the reconciled legislation and submit it to Malacañang for the President's signature.