Former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) will be a resounding success if the 19th Congress passes the P100 legislated daily minimum wage hike bill.
He also asked Senate President Francis Escudero to intervene on behalf of millions of Filipino minimum wage earners and press the House leadership to act on the measure now pending in the chamber.
The Senate has already approved on third and final reading a measure calling for a P100 increase in the daily minimum wage rates nationwide.
But the House has not acted on it since some members believe P100 is “too low”.
“We dare them: If they want to pass a P200 minimum wage hike, let’s do it,” he said.
He added that regional wage boards are doing Filipino workers a disservice by approving “a pittance” when it comes to increasing the minimum wage rates, citing the recent increases in Metro Manila and other regions.
During Monday night’s interpellation on the counter-SONA delivered by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, Zubiri pointed out that it would reflect highly on the administration if the legislated wage hike bill is passed into law.
He pointed out this would do a great service to millions of Filipino families reeling from the high prices of goods and low salary rates.
Zubiri raised the issue of the very low minimum wage rates now prevailing all over the country, especially in Mindanao.
Zubiri said in Mindanao, workers receive even less wages than their counterparts all over the country.
“As a matter of fact … Mindanao still has a daily (minimum) wage of less than P400. I think, if I’m not mistaken, BARMM and CARAGA have P385, less than P400, P385, or P395,” he bared.
“If you noticed, there was a series of surveys after the President’s SONA, yun pa rin ang (issues) ng tao eh, the process of goods and the low pay. So, it goes back to that, unless we answer these issues, indeed, it will always frustrate the people,” Zubiri said.
