Minimum wage hike bills refiled as 20th Congress opens

BACK ON THE TABLE

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After the 19th Congress failed to hold a bicam conference, lawmakers are giving the minimum wage hike bill another shot, refiling it on the very first day of the 20th Congress.

Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (TUCP Party-list) refiled on Monday, June 30, the same P200 wage hike bill that stalled in the previous Congress, where neither the House nor Senate agreed to a bicameral conference or adopted the other's version.

The House passed its version of the minimum wage hike bill on third and final reading just a week before the 19th Congress adjourned for the final time, while the Senate approved its separate P100 wage hike measure in 2024.

The P200 wage hike bill, formerly House Bill 11376, has been refiled under House Bill 88.

Make it a priority. To fast-track the process, Mendoza invoked Section 48 of the House rules, which allows bills that were approved on third reading in the last Congress to skip committee deliberations if refiled and approved by a majority vote as "matters already reported."

"This is only right and proper as we feel and believe that the P200 legislated wage hike must be immediately taken up by the 20th Congress as its first and foremost priority," the explanatory note read.

Regional wage boards.

Nearly four decades have passed since the last legislated wage hike. In its place, regional wage boards determine minimum wage increases based on localized studies and consultations, anchored on the assumption that living costs and productivity largely differ by region.

The problem labor groups see, however, is that wage hikes are modest at best. They typically range from P20 to P50 and occur just once or twice a year. Mendoza has referred to them as mere "spare change."