MINIMUM wage earners in Central Luzon will receive a P50 to P80 daily pay increase by the end of October, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) announced on Tuesday.
Under Wage Order RBIII-26, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved a P50 increase for workers in the non-agriculture, agriculture, and retail and service sectors in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.
The hike will be released in two tranches-P20 upon effectivity and another P30 on April 16.
With this adjustment, the daily minimum wage for non-agriculture workers in these provinces will rise from P550 to P600, while those in the agriculture sector will see their pay increase from P520 to P570.
Workers in the retail and service sector, meanwhile, will receive a higher rate of P540 to P590 per day.
In Aurora province, non-agriculture and agriculture workers will each receive a P60 increase bringing their new daily wages to P560 and P545, respectively.
Those in the retail and service sector will receive the biggest adjustment, with an P80 increase that will raise their pay from P435 to P515 per day.
The RTWPB said the adjustment was based on prevailing regional conditions, including the rise in the Consumer Price Index from 131.1 in October 2024 to 132.6 in August 2025.
The board also cited the 2023 poverty threshold in Region III, pegged by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) at P528 for a family of five, and the region’s 6.5-percent economic growth in 2023 to 2024.
‘The Board deemed it just to increase the daily minimum wage, considering the need to restore the purchasing power of the workers’ wages; to progressively close the minimum wage-poverty threshold gap in the region; and to ensure equitable distribution of the fruits of economic growth between workers and employers,’ the RTWPB-III said.
Aside from private sector workers, domestic workers (kasambahays) in Central Luzon will also benefit from a P500 monthly increase, bringing the new minimum wage for kasambahays to P6,500.
The new rate covers all domestic workers, whether they live in or outside their employers’ homes, including househelp, nannies (yayas), cooks, gardeners, and laundry workers.
Both wage orders will take effect on October 30.