By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) has ended its opposition to further legal challenges against the P85 daily minimum wage increase in the National Capital Region, clearing the way for the controversial pay adjustment to move forward despite continuing court action.
The employers’ group said Friday it would no longer expect or pursue additional petitions seeking to stop the wage increase following a dialogue between labor and management representatives convened by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“We made sure that if there is an increase, that it should be given,” said Antonio Sayo, Ecop representative to the special meeting of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council.
Sayo said the group had agreed to “move forward” with the wage increase, effectively signaling a shift from its earlier opposition to the adjustment.
“We saw to it that this stops,” he said in an ambush interview, referring to further efforts to block the wage order.
The development follows two separate court challenges to the NCR wage hike.
The Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Branch 152, issued a temporary restraining order on July 30 after construction firms Readycon Construction Corp. and R-II Builders questioned the implementation of the wage increase.
A separate petition was also filed before the Navotas City Regional Trial Court by the Alliance of Philippines Fishing Federations, which sought a status quo ante order against the wage adjustment.
The NCR wage order provides for a total P85 daily increase, to be implemented in two tranches.
The first tranche, amounting to P60 a day, took effect on July 25 but was subsequently halted by the Pasig court’s TRO.
The remaining P25 increase is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 20, 2027.
The legal dispute has also brought renewed attention to Article 126 of the Labor Code, or Presidential Decree No. 442, which bars courts from issuing injunctions against wage increases.
The Pasig court itself noted the provision in its proceedings despite issuing the TRO.
With Ecop now signaling that it will no longer seek additional court intervention, the focus shifts to the existing legal proceedings and the eventual implementation of the wage order.
Ecop’s decision to respect the NCR wage adjustment does not mean it has abandoned its broader reservations about how wage increases are determined across the country.
Sayo said Ecop had previously voted against the NCR increase during consultations with regional wage boards because it feared the adjustment could become a benchmark for other regions.
“We do not want this to be a benchmark for other regions,” he said.
According to Sayo, Ecop will respect the decisions and processes of regional wage boards but maintains that wage adjustments must reflect the economic conditions of each area.
“This should not be the basis for all regions precisely because of the different cost structures,” he said.
The distinction is significant: Ecop is prepared to let the NCR wage increase proceed, but it does not want the P85 adjustment automatically replicated elsewhere.
For workers in Metro Manila, however, the immediate issue is whether the court challenges will ultimately prevent the full wage increase from taking effect.
With Ecop now stepping back from further petitions, the battle over the NCR wage hike moves increasingly from the employers’ camp to the courts—and ultimately to the agencies tasked with enforcing the country’s wage policy.
ia/xf
