Roughly 1.1 million workers across the National Capital Region stand to gain from a newly implemented pay adjustment that the Department of Labor and Employment has called the largest ever granted in Metro Manila.
The initial phase of Wage Order No. NCR-27 took effect Saturday, July 25, delivering a P60 boost to daily earnings. Non-agricultural workers now receive P755 per day, up from P695. Those employed in agriculture, in service and retail establishments with 15 or fewer staff, and in manufacturing operations with fewer than 10 workers saw their daily pay move from P658 to P718.
A second phase, adding another P25 to daily wages, is scheduled for January 20, 2027. Once that portion is applied, non-agricultural pay will reach P780 daily, while the second grouping of workers will earn P743.
The order forms part of a total P85 daily increase spread across the two phases.
DOLE has cautioned businesses that failing to apply the mandated adjustments carries legal penalties. The agency also pointed employers toward collective bargaining as a route for handling wage distortion, the situation that arises when salaries already above the minimum need recalibrating.
As the department stated in a press release, “In line with the implementation, the labor chief continues to remind employers to follow the wage adjustment, as non-compliance will result in penalties set by law. He also urged resolving wage distortion, or the adjustment of salaries above the minimum wage, through collective bargaining agreements between labor and management.”
Calls to hold off on the increase came from the Foundation for Economic Freedom, a non-government organization that argued the order should wait until employers, labor, and government reach shared agreement and the principle of tripartism is honored. Malacañang had already signaled that no such delay would be granted.
