As workers call for a higher minimum wage amid inflation, an Instagram reel is claiming that the minimum wage in Metro Manila has been raised to P720, from P570. This needs context.
Senate Bill (SB) No. 2002 which seeks to increase wages “across-the-board” by P150 for all workers in the private sector is still pending approval at the committee level.
On May 14, an Instagram account published the short video which was first posted by a TikTok account. The following text is superimposed on the video:
“Legit 720? 725 na minimum wage ngaun (sic) aprobado na. Dagdag sahod na 150 aprobado na (P725 minimum wage approved, an increase of P150 is now approved).”
The 29-second video showed a May 10 24 Oras report stating that the Senate Committee on Labor has approved the bill.
However, it has only been approved “in principle” at the committee level and has yet to go through a lengthy process before it is enacted into law. (Read VERA Files: How a Bill Becomes a Law)
Although the bill is officially still pending at the committee level, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said during a May 10 senate committee hearing that SB 2002 is now approved by the senate labor panel “in principle” and it will soon be sent to a technical working group.
“We expect that the Committee Report will come out in about two weeks, and we hope to pass the bill before we adjourn in June,” Zubiri said in a text message to reporters.
This video continued to circulate as several business groups voiced their concerns against the minimum wage hike bill, stating that it might hurt micro, small and medium enterprises.
An Instagram netizen published the video, garnering over 38,000 interactions. It has been viewed over 1.5 million times, according to Facebook. It was first published by TikTok account celistine025, receiving over 1,000 interactions and 15,000 views.
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