"Workers disappointed at unanswered calls from labor sector in SONA 2025", 29 July 2025

…, several labor groups expressed dismay over what they saw as the President’s failure to respond to certain calls the sector has made in recent years.

Trade unions Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro), Partido Manggagawa (PM), and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) specifically called out, for instance, Marcos’ non-mention of the proposed legislated wage hike — which he also snubbed in his 2024 SONA.

“Workers keep on pressing for a legislated wage hike of P200 as well as the passage of the security of tenure bill, but to no avail. Katulad sa baha at bagyo, kailangan ang Presidente sa pagharap sa krisis na ito (In the same way as with floods and storms, the President needs to face this crisis),” said PM in a statement.

In Rappler’s special coverage of the SONA, FFW vice president Julius Cainglet said following the speech, he was “bombarded” with reactions from fellow workers, noting the lack of worker-focused pronouncements.

“From the 19th Congress, there were very high hopes that after 36 years, we would finally have a national legislated wage hike, but we ended up with nothing,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

… While Sentro acknowledged that Marcos spoke about helping workers, they noted that he did not mention legislated wage hikes, plans to end contractualization, a public employment program, and a “serious” industrial policy…

The legislated wage hike bill was close to passage in the 19th Congress, with the Senate approving a P100-increase for minimum wage earners in the private sector, across the board. It took over a year for the House of Representatives to approve the P200 version…

Marcos never backed the wage hike bill nor responded to calls to certify it as urgent. Instead, he directed regional wage boards to conduct timely reviews of their respective minimum wages — a system that labor groups have said does not meaningfully improve the lives of workers…