The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) criticized the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) over a ₱25 to ₱45 daily wage increase granted in Region 4A CALABARZON, calling the rate inadequate and condemning the continued division of minimum wages within a single region.
The labor center highlighted that minimum wage adjustments across CALABARZON vary depending on sector classifications and municipality tiers, with second- to fifth-class municipalities assigned a P25 daily increase.
“Are the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 4A of the DOLE out of their minds? Hindi na nga nakabubuhay ang sahod, lalo pang kinukutusan ang manggagawa na bibigyan ng P45 na hindi man lang makabili ng isang kilo ng bigas, pero paano pa ang P25 umento sa mga 2nd hanggang 5th class municipalities na kulang pa sa pamasahe para makapasok at makauwi?” the TUCP said.
Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures that place the peso’s local purchasing power at approximately 73 centavos, the TUCP calculated that minimum-wage workers in CALABARZON have suffered an estimated daily loss of up to P162 in purchasing power.
The TUCP added that even with the maximum P45 adjustment applied, the region’s highest daily minimum wage reaches P645, representing roughly half of the P1,223 daily family living wage calculated by the IBON Foundation.
“That is why there is no socioeconomic justification and no honest assessment that can make sense of such measly P25-45 increase issued by DOLE,” the TUCP also said.
In contrast, the RTWPB-IV-A approved a maximum daily wage increase of P100 divided into two tranches starting October 2025, a period when regional inflation registered at 2.4 percent in September 2025 and CALABARZON secured over P100 billion in foreign investment pledges according to PSA data.
“Last year, P100. This year, as little as P25 or merely one-fourth of last year’s maximum increase and roughly two-thirds of the P60 increase implemented in Metro Manila. If DOLE could issue a substantially larger increase last year, why are workers now being told to settle for a fraction of that amount now amid tougher times and higher prices in the middle of a national energy emergency and a global crisis?” the TUCP asked.
The labor organization also expressed concern over legal challenges against minimum wage adjustments, warning that court disputes regarding Wage Order No. 27 and the subsequent issuance of Wage Order No. 28 may have driven regional wage boards to adopt an overly cautious posture favored by business employers.
“Huwag sanang magpadala ang DOLE sa takot sa kaso para ipagkait sa manggagawa ang makatarungang umento! The workers of CALABARZON and countless others across the provinces and regions must not become collateral damage in a wage-setting system that appears increasingly afraid of legal challenges but remains indifferent to the daily struggle of working families. If the threat of litigation is enough to shrink wage increases across the regions, then employers who oppose meaningful wage adjustments have effectively been handed by the DOLE a veto over workers’ purchasing power,” the TUCP also said.