Bicol: A total of 100,414 minimum wage earners in the Bicol Region will receive an additional PHP40 in their daily wages following the approval of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB). Wage Order No. RBV-22 has increased the daily minimum wage in the region from PHP395 to PHP435 for all sectors and industries, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in a news release on Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the wage adjustment will be implemented in two tranches, with the first on April 5 and the second on December 1. Retail and service establishments that regularly employ not more than 10 workers, and enterprises affected by natural calamities or human-induced disasters, may apply for an exemption from the wage increase, as provided for in the Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determination, as amended. Registered barangay micro business enterprises are not covered by the minimum wage law pursuant to Republic Act No. 9178.
Additionally, another 316,784 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may indirectly benefit from upward adjustments at the enterprise level due to the correction of wage distortion. The new minimum wage rate in the Bicol Region was established after a deferment initiated by labor representatives in November 2024 to allow for economic recovery following the impact of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine in October last year. The wage order was affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission and approved by the RTWPB on March 14.
On a related note, 94,042 domestic workers, or household help, in the Bicol Region are entitled to a PHP1,000 increase under Wage Order No. RBV-DW-04, raising their monthly pay to PHP6,000. A total of 19,607 kasambahays, or 21 percent of all domestic workers in the region, are on live-in arrangements. Meanwhile, Wage Order No. RIX-DW-05 granted a PHP900 increase to the monthly minimum wage of 18,984 domestic workers in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Once implemented, the new monthly minimum wage for domestic workers in chartered cities and first-class municipalities in the region will be PHP5,500 and PHP5,000 in other municipalities.
