The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is pushing for regular reviews of wage policy to ensure that minimum pay keeps pace with economic conditions and workers' needs.

Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino said wage setting should be flexible and evidence-based, with regular assessments to make sure minimum wage rates reflect the economic realities faced by workers and employers.

“What we owe the Filipino worker is not just a single generous gesture at the year’s end followed by silence until the next crisis forces our hand,” Mr. Tolentino said during the Mid-Year Planning and Assessment for wage boards in Pasay City on Thursday.

Call for a midyear wage and price assessment

Mr. Tolentino called for a midyear wage and price assessment to track how first-half consumer price movements, including their impact on lower-income households, affect the real value of minimum wage rates across the regions. The proposal comes as wage boards continue to navigate regional differences in prices and labor conditions, making the timing and basis of wage adjustments a recurring issue for workers, employers and regulators alike.

“Rather than wait for a petition or for conditions to become dire enough to force an emergency wage order, this commission should now think of producing a midyear wage and price assessment,” he said.

He also urged the National Wages and Productivity Commission and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards to establish criteria for responding to extraordinary economic conditions, including allowing regional wage boards to initiate wage reviews when warranted instead of waiting for the annual review cycle.

Metro Manila injunction

On the ongoing injunction involving the Metro Manila minimum wage increase, Mr. Tolentino said the government must respect the court order while finding lawful ways to respond to changing conditions.

“We should not be held hostage by a court injunction. However erroneous it might be, we have to respect it at the moment; we have to find other means to be flexible enough to respond to the conditions as they emerge… within the legal parameters provided for by the Labor Code of the Philippines,” he said.

The National Capital Region wage increase was frozen after the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) issued a status quo ante order on July 24 in response to a petition filed by two construction firms. The order prevented the P60 first tranche of Wage Order No. NCR-27 from taking effect on July 25.

The case was later raffled to Branch 152, which issued a 20-day temporary restraining order on July 30. The court subsequently issued a preliminary injunction on Aug. 13, extending the freeze on the P60 increase.

Labor groups have asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the RTC has jurisdiction to issue such orders against regional wage boards.

A transparent, evidence-based system

Mr. Tolentino said the government also aims to build a wage-setting system that is transparent, evidence-based and humane while balancing the needs of workers and employers. His remarks underscore how wage reviews sit at the intersection of inflation, regional policy-making and legal process, with the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards expected to weigh economic data and stakeholder input as part of the existing framework.

“The process is proper, in accordance with the law, and beneficial to both workers and employers,” he said.

— Mark Joseph M. Sanchez