5 days ago
Villanueva concerned P200 wage hike bill might get vetoed
Senator Joel Villanueva has expressed concern regarding the House of Representatives' approval of the bill granting a P200 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers, as it might get vetoed by President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. if adopted by the Senate.
The House version of the legislated wage hike offers a higher increase than the P100 approved by the Senate.
For Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, the Senate's proposal is more convenient and practical.
'Parang ang tingin natin 'pag nangyari 'yan, diretsong veto. 'Yan ang kailangan din natin pagtuunan ng pansin kung ia-adopt natin 'yan kasi baka 'yan din 'yung dahilan ng iba na nandun sa Kamara para masiguro na ma-veto 'yan,' he told reporters.
(I think that it may be directly vetoed by the President. That's what we also need to look at, if we are going to adopt that because some House members may just use that to ensure that the bill will get vetoed.)
'That's another way of looking at it. For us, we still believe [that the] P100 is the most convenient and practical. But 'yung [but for] P200, medyo, as much as we wanted to, we don't know,' he added.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday's plenary session approved the bill granting a P200 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers in the private sector on its third and final reading.
Villanueva said he wants to see the House's basis for the proposed P200 wage increase.
'Of course, that would be interesting… Kung sabihin ng Malacañang na it's okay for us to, na napag-aralan rin nila, mas malaki 'yung resources nila to study all these measures, so why not. But, at the same time I'm also thinking, baka way din 'yan para immediately shutdown 'yung P100 dahil ibe-veto rin 'yung P200,' he said.
(If the Malacañang says it's okay for us to adopt that because it's already been studied, why not. But, at the same time I'm also thinking that it may be a way to immediately shutdown the P100 because the P200 will be vetoed.)
The House and the Senate will have to reconcile the differences in a bicameral conference committee before transmitting the enrolled bill to Malacañang for Marco' signature to become a law.
The House and the Senate have until June 13 or the last session day of the 19th Congress to reconcile their differing versions of the wage hike measure and ratify the reconciled version for the bill to be ready for the President's signature. Otherwise, the bill has to be refiled next Congress.
Malacañang said that Marcos will look into the economic implications of the proposed increase in the minimum wage hike.
''Nais ng Pangulo na maibigay kung ano ang makakabuti sa manggagawang Pilipino,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said during a briefing Thursday.
(The President wants to give the best for the Filipino workers.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
