Manila, Philippines — June 4, 2025
In a landmark move, the House of Representatives on Tuesday passed House Bill No. 11376, or the “Wage Hike For Minimum Wage Workers Act,” on third and final reading with an overwhelming vote of 171-0-1.
The bill proposes a ₱200 daily wage increase for private sector workers, marking the first legislated wage hike in nearly four decades.
In his speech following the approval, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Party-list Representative Raymond Mendoza praised the chamber, stating, “Congress has proven itself to be the House of the People.”
Mendoza recalled how the TUCP once led the campaign for a ₱25 wage hike in 1989, writing:
> “Thirty-six years later, we carry on the struggle and make history once more by passing the bill on a ₱200 daily minimum wage increase.”
Under the latest version of the bill, Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards will still have the authority to set regional wage increases, even after the bill is enacted into law.
The measure also includes provisions for incentives for small businesses that may be adversely affected and identifies certain industries that could be exempted from the hike.
Outgoing Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, and Cavite Rep. Jolo Revilla, who co-authored the measure, collectively emphasized the urgency of raising wages, particularly for private-sector workers.
Congress and the Senate now have until June 13 to reconcile the wage hike figures proposed in their respective versions.
The Senate is pushing for a more modest ₱100 increase, creating the need for bicameral negotiations.
If no unified version is approved and transmitted to President Bongbong Marcos Jr. before the 19th Congress adjourns on June 13, the bill will lapse and need to be refiled in the incoming 20th Congress.