Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Friday urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to implement the ₱85 pay raise under Wage Order No. 27, warning that a subsequent order offering a lower ₱60 increase has created unnecessary confusion for workers.
Villanueva, who heads the Senate Committee on Labor, maintained that Wage Order No. 27 is the legitimate policy to execute because it completed all required administrative steps and public consultations.
“The confusion caused by the new wage order granting a ₱60 increase has only added to the worries of our workers,” Villanueva said in a statement. “This is precisely why the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) should implement Wage Order No. 27 or the ₱85 wage increase, which underwent the proper process and was subjected to consultations with stakeholders.”
The lawmaker stressed that the ₱25 difference between the two directives represents a significant amount for employees in the National Capital Region who are struggling with escalating living expenses.
Villanueva pointed out that under Article 126 of the Labor Code, temporary restraining orders or injunctions cannot be levied against an active wage order.
He added that introducing an alternative wage order is an improper remedy, noting that regulations permit only one wage order per year unless triggered by a “supervening event.”
“At this point, there is no such event that would warrant another wage order,” he noted.
Warning officials against taking procedural shortcuts, the senator cautioned that the government must refrain from misleading workers who are counting on the higher pay adjustment.
“There is no quick fix and giving false hope to our kababayans who have long been waiting and expecting this wage increase is not the right way,” he said.
Villanueva emphasized that the dispute underscores the necessity of following due process in wage determination.
He also renewed his call for lawmakers to pass the Living Wage Act—a measure he authored in the 20th Congress—to establish wage-setting criteria based on actual living costs.