National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said yesterday there were other ways by which Filipinos could cope with rising inflation and commodity prices other than by seeking wage hikes.
Balisacan told lawmakers the Philippines should increase labor demand instead of increasing wages through legislation.
“It is very harmful to the economy in the longer term and even for labor,” the NEDA chief said during the House briefing of the Development and Budget Coordination Committee.
“If wages are forced to increase by legislation and not because the demand for labor is high compared to the supply of labor, then the whole issue of competitiveness will hurt us,” Balisacan said.
He warned that raising the mandated wages would discourage investors from doing business in the country.
Hiking wages, he added, would increase the cost of the country’s exports and reduce its competitiveness in the world market.
“If we raise wages not because of productivity, how can we export? How can our products become competitive in the international market? And if we cannot export, how can we increase the level of economic activity? Where will the labor be employed,” he asked.
To recall, the most recent minimum wage hike went into effect on 4 June 2022, with pay in the National Capital Area rising from P533 to P570 per day.
During the same briefing, Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo asked the government to hasten the disbursement of P9.3 billion in announced “ayuda” or aid to those affected by inflation.
Citing an Asian Development Bank report that said food inflation of 10 percent throws an additional 2.3 million into poverty, Quimbo pointed out the latest 11.2-percent food inflation resulted in 2.58 million more Filipinos becoming poor.