MANILA -- A lawmaker called on members of the House on Wednesday to follow suit after 21 senators signed a resolution calling for the lifting of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the P85 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila.
Among those who signed Senate Resolution 577, filed on Tuesday, is Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.
“Naglabas na ng resolusyon ang mataas na kapulungan, ang Senado ng Republika ng Pilipinas kung saan 21 senador ang pumirma sa resolusyon na nagsasabi o sumusuporta sa kagyat o immediate lifting of the temporary restraining order. We, from the House of Representatives, are calling upon our colleagues to do the same,” Kamanggagawa party-list Representative Elijah Fernando said in a press conference.
San Fernando also urged House leadership to pass resolutions connected to this that were already filed, including one from the Akbayan Reform Bloc.
“There are already resolutions filed by our friends, by our colleagues from the Akbayan Reform bloc, and also the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. We are calling to the House leadership na tayo po ay magkaisa at ipasa natin ang resolusyon na ito upang magpadala ng matapang na mensahe, malakas na mensahe na hindi pumapayag ang Kongreso sa pambabastos ng Pasig RTC Branch 152,” San Fernando added.
Akbayan Representatives Perci Cendaña, Chel Diokno, and Dadah Kiram Ismula, along with Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao, earlier filed House Resolution 1273 seeking an inquiry into the injunction’s effects on workers’ actual wages.
According to Cendaña, they filed an intervention with the Pasig RTC asking to junk the TRO against Wage Order No. 27 on the P85 increase.
Cendaña also called on the Supreme Court to investigate the matter motu propio.
“May panawagan tayo sa Korte Suprema. Kayo po ang mayroong administrative supervision sa mga korte sa Pilipinas. Malinaw po na nalabag ang batas. At kapag hindi po natin ma-a-address the soonest time possible, mauulit at mauulit lamang ito,” Cendaña said.
“We call on the Supreme Court– motu propio. Puwede po kayong mag-probe. Puwede niyong imbestigahan ang mga korte at ang mga hukom na ginagamit at ginagamit ang kanilang posisyon para labagin ang batas pagdating po dito sa wage-setting mechanism,” Cendaña added.
Cendaña said this in a press conference with the National Wage Coalition alongside other groups and lawmakers where they collectively opposed the TRO.
Here, representatives of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and Nagkaisa! bared plans to file motions to intervene at a Navotas RTC branch to ask for the dismissal of what they said is a petition to block the NCR wage hike.
House inquiry into effects of NCR wage hike TRO sought
SENATE RESOLUTION
The Senate, through Senate Resolution 577, expressed support for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the country's workers, among others, amid the wage hike suspension.
Senator Joel Villanueva, who sponsored the resolution together with Senators Migz Zubiri, JV Ejercito, and Robin Padilla, stressed the upper chamber’s responsibility to stand with workers affected by the delay.
“This Senate, your Senate, has every right and indeed every duty to express its concern and speak for the millions of our workers whose lives are directly affected by this delay,” Villanueva said in his sponsorship speech.
Senate Resolution 577 cited Article 126 of the Labor Code, which states that no preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or temporary restraining order may be issued against proceedings before the National Wages and Productivity Commission or the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.
Ejercito said the issue goes beyond a labor dispute and should be viewed as a matter of social justice.
“We join the workers’ call not only for a wage increase but for social justice. The denial of the P85 wage increase should not be reduced to a mere employee conflict. Rather, it is an alarming case of injustice,” Ejercito said.
Senators Raffy Tulfo, Bong Go, and Risa Hontiveros also manifested their support for the resolution.
“It prejudices the working class who are already operating on the margins of survival,” Tulfo said.
“It affects more than 1.1 million minimum wagers in Metro Manila…ang bawat araw na nade-delay po ito ay katumbas na gutom at hirap,” Go said.
‘Malinaw itong pattern’: TUCP seeks dismissal of new petition vs. NCR wage hike