The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday announced an increase in the minimum wage of workers in the Ilocos Region and Western Visayas.
According to DOLE in a statement, the increases reflect the Wage Orders issued by both regions’ Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards, which are expected to cover 389,505 minimum wage earners.
In Ilocos, a P45 daily wage increase will be implemented for the non-agricultural sector employing fewer than 10 employees and the agricultural sector, increasing their daily minimum wage to P480 or P12,520 per month.
Meanwhile, workers in the non-agricultural sector with employees of 10 or more will receive a P37 wage hike, bringing their daily minimum pay to P505, or approximately P13,172 per month.
The approved daily wage increase in Western Visayas, on the other hand, is P37 for the non-agricultural, industrial, and commercial sectors employing more than 10 workers, bringing their daily minimum wage to P587 daily or P17,826 per month.
For those in the same sector but employing ten workers or fewer, the increase is P40, which brings their daily minimum wage to P525 daily or P13,694 per month.
Meanwhile, the agricultural sector will also receive a P40 increase, bringing the daily minimum wage to P560 daily or P13,560 per month.
Domestic workers in both regions will also receive monthly increases of P700 and P500, raising the minimum monthly wage rates in the Ilocos Region to P6,700 and in Western Visayas to P6,500.
‘About 758,733 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage are also expected to indirectly benefit from wage adjustments at the enterprise level in the said regions, arising from the correction of wage distortions,’ said DOLE in a statement.
However, the agency said that retail and service establishments with no more than 10 regular employees, as well as enterprises affected by natural or human-induced disasters, may apply for an exemption from the wage increase until January 17, 2026.
Meanwhile, Barangay Micro Business Enterprises with valid Certificates of Authority from the Department of Trade and Industry are not covered by the minimum wage law.