(UPDATE) STARTING in February, domestic workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) will receive an additional P800 in their monthly wage, bringing their total pay to P7,888.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma on Wednesday said the new wage order will take effect on Feb. 7, 2026, or 15 days after its publication on Jan. 22, 2026.
The pay adjustment will benefit an estimated 223,610 domestic workers, 62 percent, or 138,263, of whom are on a live-in arrangement.
The previous wage order increase for domestic workers in the NCR was issued on Dec. 13, 2024, and took effect on Jan. 4, 2025.
Before that, 11 wage orders were also issued by various Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, granting P300 to P2,000 increase to the monthly minimum wage of domestic workers.
Laguesma said the RTWPB-NCR conducted focus group discussions and rolled out surveys with domestic workers across NCR, in coordination with local government units, Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs), and various associations.
The increase was the result of these activities.
He said officials took into consideration the needs of domestic workers and their families, the employers’ capacity to pay, and the socio-economic conditions in the region.
ILO (International Labor Organization) Convention 189 contains principles promoting the rights and protection of domestic workers based on the decent work framework.
The Philippine ratification of the Convention was the precursor of Republic Act 10361, or An Act Instituting Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers, otherwise known as the Domestic Workers Act, or Batas Kasambahay, which seeks to change the conditions of the domestic workers by institutionalizing their rights similar to the rights of workers in the formal sector.
Specifically, it sets the standards for the terms and conditions of work, including the execution of a written employment contract between the employer and the household help.
It provides minimum wage, health and safety standards, compulsory coverage to social protection such as SSS, Pag-IBIG, and PhilHealth, adopts the standards for employment of working children, and protects them from unjust termination of employment.
