MANILA, Philippines- Nagbabala ang economic managers ng Marcos administration nitong Miyerkules na ang dagdag na P150 sa daily minimum wage ay makapagpapabagal sa paglago ng ekonomiya at nakapagpapalobo sa ekonomiya.
Sinabi ni National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan na magreresulta ang P150-wage hike upang bumagal ang gross domestic product (GDP) ng 0.2 hanggang 0.9 percentage points, at makapagpapataas sa unemployment rate ng 0.3 hanggang 1.0 percentage points.
“Obviously, we understand what the problems are — high cost of energy, poor infra, high cost of business,” aniya sa briefing ng Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) sa Senado.
“We’re trying to address those, but what I’m trying to say is that if we (do) address the problem of low incomes by raising the wages by legislative (measures)… then these other factors that are required by investors to come will happen much later,” dagdag ng NEDA chief.
Ito ay kasunod ng pagsusulong ni Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri sa P150 wage increase para sa lahat ng private sectors sa buong bansa, ang panukalang inaprubahan “in principle” ng Senate committee on labor, employment, and human resources.
“In principle, the Senate Committee on Labor has already approved our Across-the-Board Wage Increase Act, and a Technical Working Group (TWG) is set to discuss a proposed graduated wage increase scheme for our MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises),” pahayag ni Zubiri noong Mayo.
“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,” patuloy ng senador.
Naitala ang second-quarter economic growth na 4.3%, mas mabagal kumpara sa 6.4% sa first quarter at sa 7.5% sa parehong quarter noong 2022.
Samantala, pumalo ang inflation sa 4.7% noong July, mas mababa kumpara sa 5.4% noong June at 6.4% noong July 2022, subalit mas mataas kumpara sa target ng pamahalaan na 2.0% hanggang 4.0%.
Binigyang-diin ni Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno magdudulot ang P150 wage increase sa paglobo ng inflation ng 1.4 percentage points.
“The proposed P150 increase could bring the country’s inflation rate further away. Right now, baka tumaas ulit ‘yung inflation and also that kind of increase will have a second-round effect, which would mean that wages could be passed on by businesses, industries, and other institutions to consumers,” sabi ni Diokno.
“‘Yun lang po ang concern namin so we might solve this wage problem, but mas mataas po ang impact niya sa inflation, mas marami pong maapektuhan na tao,” patuloy niya. RNT/SA
