"Northern Mindanao minimum wage hike still leaves workers below poverty line", 5 January 2026

… Workers in Northern Mindanao will see their daily minimum wage rise by P39 to between P485 and P500 under a new wage order, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) said.

The rates, posted online on New Year’s Eve, are part of Wage Order No. RX-24, which was confirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) …

Business and labor leaders said the increase is too small to lift workers above the poverty threshold.

“The increase may not be enough if we compare it to the (family) living wage of about P1,200 per day, but it is better than nothing,” said Raymundo Talimio, a certified public accountant and immediate past president of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Incorporated (Oro Chamber).

He explained that employers and business owners rely on the regional wage-setting mechanism, noting that the RTWPB-X has never issued a P50- or higher increase since the tripartite body was formed 36 years ago in Northern Mindanao.

Talimio added that the situation would have been more challenging if the legislated wage hike of P100 to P300 had materialized, hinting that a one-time, across-the-board increase in the daily minimum wage could lead to layoffs and business closures.

… Despite this, Talimio said legislated wage adjustments could help narrow the gap between the daily minimum wage and the family living wage.

A family living wage refers to the income needed to cover a household’s cost of living, including all food and non-food requirements, with sufficient allowance for savings and social security investments.

… Sarmen pointed out that while the Constitution mandates a living wage, workers still cannot support a family on today’s minimum pay because regional wage orders have effectively kept workers below the poverty line. “This is a failure of governance, not just an economic issue,” he said.

Formerly with the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), which proposed a P200-legislated daily wage increase in Congress, Sarmen lamented that most lawmakers “do not truly see public office as public service” because they are influenced by business interests.