House OKs P200 minimum wage hike bill on 2nd reading
(PHOTO COURTESY OF MEPZ WORKERS ALLIANCE)
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Monday approved on second reading House Bill (HB) No. 11376, which proposes a P200 minimum wage increase.
The bill was approved via viva voce or voice voting.
No committee or individual amendments were made but before the bill was approved, Assistant Majority Leader and Leyte 3rd District Rep. Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon said that they will be placing a substitute bill to HB No. 11376, under Committee Report No. 1384.
“Mr. Speaker, there being no committee amendments, I move to proceed with a substitution,” Veloso-Tuazon said.
“Earlier, we distributed to the members copies of the substitute bill to House Bill No. 11376. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Section 106 of our rules, I move to amend by substitution the entire bill as contained in Committee Report No. 1384, with the contents of the substitute bill earlier distributed to all the members,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisementInitially, it was unclear why there was a substitution of the bill, but copies of the substitute measure under Committee Report No. 1384 provided by Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas showed that the key difference would be that the wage hike would apply to minimum wage earners only.
Article continues after this advertisementPreviously, the bill called for a P200 across-the-board increase to wages — which would have impacted higher salary owners.
The proposed P200 per day salary increase for minimum wage earners is higher than what the Senate has approved.
Last February 2024, Senate Bill No. 2534 which proposes a P100-daily minimum wage increase for private sector workers was approved on third and final reading.
HB No. 11376 is a substitution to HB No. 7871 filed by TUCP party-list and Deputy Speaker Raymond Mendoza, which sought for a P150 across-the-board wage hike for all workers in the private sector.
The Makabayan bloc on the other hand filed HB No. 7568, which seeks a P750 wage increase.
