A “historic” ₱85 daily wage adjustment—announced by Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino on June 30, 2026—stands as the highest recorded single wage increase approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the National Capital Region (NCR).
In DOLE’s announcement, “Upon Wage Order No. NCR-27, minimum wage earners in NCR shall receive a daily wage of PHP 780 for non-agriculture sectors, while PHP 743 for agriculture (plantation and non-plantation); service/retail establishments employing 15 workers or less; and manufacturing establishments regularly employing fewer than 10 workers. The increase will be delivered in two tranches: P60 upon the Wage Order’s effectivity on July 19, 2026, and an additional P25 on January 20, 2027.”
Roughly 1.1 million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will see an immediate bump in their take-home pay. Additionally, an estimated 1.9 million full-time workers earning just above the baseline are expected to benefit from “wage distortion” adjustments—the corrections companies make to maintain a fair pay gap between job levels.
While DOLE and certain business groups accepted the compromise, labor groups note that even ₱780 falls significantly short of the living wage required to support a family in Metro Manila. Consequently, some lawmakers continue to push for a legislated nationwide wage hike of ₱100 to ₱200 to address inflation outside the capital region.
