DILIMAN, Quezon City — Noting that even with an average monthly salary of more than ₱20,000, military personnel were given a ₱200 raise in their daily subsistence allowance, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is likewise seeking a P200 increase in the daily minimum wage for all workers.

According to House Deputy Speaker and TUCP president Raymond Democrito Cañete Mendoza, if President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos sees increasing soldiers' benefits as urgent, then it's only logical to believe that he can also sign into law a bill pending in the House of Representatives which will impose a wage hike for all workers.

“The workers of this country cannot wait and suffer any longer. The price of everything is going up. We are only asking for a ₱200 increase in the daily pay of our workers. This wage hike is already overdue,” Mendoza pointed out.

“April is shaping up to be a month of train, jeepney, bus, water and power price hikes—yet Congress expects us to wait until June, when only six session days remain, to pass this badly needed wage increase," he added.
President Marcos Jr. signed on March 14 Executive Order No. 84 that increases the subsistence allowance for officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from ₱150 to ₱350 a day. The ₱200 increase shall be retroactive from the start of the year.

According to the EO, the current subsistence allowance of AFP personnel “is no longer adequate to meet the daily sustenance of an active-duty soldier, which is essential for their well-being and performance of their duties.”

Meanwhile, still pending and unsigned by the President is the proposed wage increase for workers. House Bill 11376 was approved on second reading in the Lower Chamber and seeks a ₱200 increase in the daily minimum wage of all workers in the private sector, regardless of employment status. On the other hand, Senate Bill 2534, which proposed a ₱100 increase in the minimum wage, was approved on the third and final reading in February 2024.