A COALITION of labor organizations has moved to intervene in the legal battle over Metro Manila’s P85 daily minimum wage increase, asking the Regional Trial Court in Navotas City to dismiss outright a petition seeking to suspend the wage order.
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 he personally went to the Navotas courthouse to submit printed copies of the electronically filed pleading, but no court personnel were available due to the suspension of work due to 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. He said the temporary restraining order (TRO) earlier issued by RTC Branch 152 in Pasig is, in effect, a slap in the face of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino, who had announced and defended the wage order. “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. In its motion, the coalition 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 (NWPC). 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” does not avoid the law’s prohibition because both effectively suspend the implementation of the wage order. They argued that the RTC’s only authority is to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction, and that questions involving wage determination belong to specialized labor agencies under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. The groups 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 had participated in the consultations and deliberations that resulted in the issuance of Wage Order 27, while others represent workers who stand to lose the statutory increase. The coalition emphasized that the order raises Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage from P695 to P780 in two tranches — a P60 increase that took effect last July 25, and P25 beginning Jan. 20, 2027. While the P85 adjustment is the biggest peso increase ever granted in Metro Manila, the intervenors argued it is not unprecedented in percentage terms, noting that the full adjustment amounts to about 12.23 percent, lower than several previous wage hikes, including the 39.06-percent statutory adjustment under Republic Act 6727 in 1989. The labor groups stressed that even after the full increase, Metro Manila’s minimum wage remains far below the estimated P1,300 daily family living wage, leaving a gap of roughly P520. They said the coalition continues to push for a legislated P200 daily wage hike, arguing that the current increase merely narrows — not eliminates — the disparity. Rejecting employers’ claims of excessive burden, the intervenors said financial losses cited by the petitioners are measurable and compensable, unlike the immediate hardship suffered by minimum-wage earners who rely on their daily income for food, transportation, rent, medicine and education. The coalition also argued that the petitioner, which represents only 52 commercial fishing enterprises, cannot seek regionwide relief affecting approximately 1.1 million minimum-wage earners and an estimated 1.7 million more workers whose salaries may be adjusted because of wage distortion. On Thursday, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian renewed calls for the immediate implementation of the P85 wage hike for the National Capital Region (NCR), saying persistently high inflation has made the wage adjustment more urgent for millions of workers. The country’s inflation rate accelerated to 6.2 percent in July, remaining well above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2-percent to 4-percent target range. Gatchalian warned that further delays in implementing the pay increase would further diminish workers’ purchasing power amid rising living costs. “What is clear is that the Senate’s position is the same — the wage increase must be implemented immediately, especially in the midst of rising inflation,” he said. “If we were able to pass a higher wage hike in the past in a calmer situation without the war in Iran and lower oil prices, it is even more necessary now to help our workers,” he added. The Senate earlier unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 59, expressing the chamber’s support for appeals to immediately lift the TRO that halted the implementation of wage order.
