Minimum wage earners in the Bicol Region are getting a pay increase starting Wednesday, as the first tranche of Wage Order No. RBV-23 takes effect.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, ex officio chairman of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), confirmed that the commission unanimously affirmed the new wage order issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-Region 5 (RTWPB-V).
The order, published on March 23, provides a total daily wage increase of P45 to be released in two tranches. The first tranche of P20 takes effect on April 8, raising the daily rate to P455. A second tranche of P25 follows on December 1, which will bring the minimum wage to P480 across all types of private-sector industries and businesses.
Workers covered by the order are those in the cities of Iriga, Legazpi, Ligao, Masbate, Naga, Sorsogon, and Tabaco, as well as the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon.
An estimated 101,868 minimum wage earners will directly benefit from the adjustment, while an additional 409,081 full-time workers earning above the minimum wage are expected to benefit indirectly through the correction of wage distortions.
In setting the new rates, the wage board conducted a series of consultations and public hearings across Bicol in January and February to evaluate regional socio-economic conditions. It found that the average inflation rate within the region was 1.5% between April 2025 and January 2026, while the regional real minimum wage stood at P318 as of January. The 2023 poverty threshold for a family of five in the region was P460 as of early 2026, and Bicol’s gross regional domestic product grew 4.9% during the 2023–2024 period.
Domestic workers in the region are also seeing a pay adjustment. Under a separate order, Wage Order RBV-DW-04, kasambahays receive a monthly increase of P1,000, bringing their minimum monthly pay to P6,000 from P5,000, effective April 5.
Small retail and service establishments regularly employing no more than 10 workers, and enterprises affected by natural calamities or human-induced disasters, may apply for exemption from the wage increase until June 6, 2026.
The Bicol wage order completed salary increases across all 16 regions of the country, fulfilling a presidential directive to initiate a timely review of regional minimum wage rates.
