MANILA, Philippines — A broad coalition of labor organizations has moved to intervene in the legal battle over Metro Manila’s historic ₱85 daily minimum wage increase, asking the Regional Trial Court in Navotas to dismiss outright a petition seeking to suspend the wage order and arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over wage-fixing disputes.
The Federation of Free Workers (FFW), SENTRO, Partido Manggagawa, National Federation of Labor, Unified Filipino Service Workers, KAPATIRAN, Philippine Metal Workers’ Alliance, Workers and Peasants Party, Kamanggagawa Party-list, and several enterprise unions filed an urgent motion to intervene, accompanied by an opposition to any Status Quo Ante Order, temporary restraining order, or injunction against NCR Wage Order 27.
FFW president Jose Matula told The Manila Times on Thursday that he personally went to the Navotas courthouse to submit printed copies of the electronically filed pleading but was unable to do so as no court personnel were available due to the suspension of work caused by Typhoon Maymay.
"This case is not merely about legal procedure. It is about protecting the wages and livelihoods of millions of workers whose voices deserve to be heard before any court decides their fate," Matula said, adding that the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by RTC Branch 152 in Pasig City is, in effect, a slap in the face of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino, who publicly announced and defended NCR Wage Order 27.
"When the President and the Secretary of Labor touted the P85 wage hike, workers expected to finally receive it. However, because of the TRO, the first tranche of P60 has remained only on paper. The message of the TRO is not just for the workers—it also appears to contradict the very wage policy being implemented by the Executive Branch," Matula pointed out.
The labor coalition, in its motion, argued that the petition filed by the Alliance of Philippine Fishing Federations Inc. improperly bypassed the statutory appeal process under the Labor Code by going directly to the Regional Trial Court instead of first appealing before the National Wages and Productivity Commission.
According to the intervenors, the Labor Code provides an exclusive administrative remedy for employers challenging wage orders and expressly prohibits courts from issuing injunctions or restraining orders against proceedings before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards and the NWPC.
The groups maintained that changing the name of the relief sought from a temporary restraining order to a “Status Quo Ante Order” did not avoid the law’s prohibition because both effectively suspend the implementation of the wage order.
They likewise argued that the RTC’s only authority was to dismiss the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, stressing that questions involving wage determination belong to specialized labor agencies under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction.
The labor organizations also criticized the petition for failing to include workers and labor groups that directly participated in the wage-setting process and whose members would immediately lose the wage increase if the petition succeeds.
Several intervenors—including KAPATIRAN, SENTRO, and Partido Manggagawa—said they actively participated in the consultations and deliberations that resulted in the issuance of NCR Wage Order 27, while others represented workers who stand to lose the statutory increase.
The coalition emphasized that the wage order raises Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage from ₱695 to ₱780 in two tranches—a ₱60 increase that took effect on July 25, 2026, followed by another ₱25 beginning Jan. 20, 2027.
