The fight for higher pay is not yet over as Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri plan to push for it in the next Congress. 鈥� 好色先生TV FILES
MANILA,聽 Philippines鈥� The fight for higher pay is not yet over as Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri plan to push for it in the next Congress.
The 19th Congress adjourned sine die on Wednesday without ratifying a wage hike bill.
鈥淣akapanlulumo. Matinding lungkot at panghihinayang ang aking nararamdaman para sa ating mga manggagawa. Sa kanila sana ang batas na ito. Sa kanila sana ang munting dagdag na ginhawa, na sa hirap ng panahon ngayon ay napakahalaga,鈥� Zubiri said in a statement on Friday.
(Disheartening. I feel deep sadness and regret for our workers. This law should have been for them. That small bit of relief could have meant so much, especially in these difficult times.)
鈥淏ut this fight is not over,鈥� he said,聽 鈥淚 will refile this bill in the 20th Congress. I will see this through, not just for the record, but for the workers who wake up each day to build this country with their hands, and who ask for nothing more than a fair wage and a life of dignity.鈥�
鈥淭hey deserve more, and it is our duty to deliver what is just,鈥� he added.
Zubiri originally sought a P150 daily wage hike for workers when he authored the bill in March 2023.聽 A year after or in February 2024, the Senate agreed to reduce the proposed pay hike to only P100 a day.
READ: Zubiri seeks P150 daily pay hike for private sector workers
Just last week, the House of Representatives passed a P200 wage hike bill and transmitted a copy of it to the Senate only this week.
Both chambers then blamed each other for their failure to approve the legislated wage hike.
With the non-approval of the measure, the next step is to refile it in the next Congress, Senate President Pro Tempore聽 Jinggoy Estrada explained.
Estrada said he is ready to refile the bill with the same proposed P100 wage increase.
鈥淵es, hindi naman tayo pwedeng tumas ng P100. Pag ginawa mong 200 dyan, alam mo, our economy will collapse. Hindi might collapse, will collapse,鈥� he stressed.
(Yes, we can鈥檛 just go higher than 鈧�100. If you make it 鈧�200, you know, our economy will collapse 鈥� not might collapse, will collapse.)/coa
NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated