NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE
S. B. NO. 2140
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23 HAY-8 P3:20
RtCEIVLD Bt';
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE STANDARDS FOR A LIVING WAGE, AMENDING 
FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLE 124 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 
442, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF 
THE PHILIPPINES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Article XIII, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides that the State 
shall guarantee the right of all workers to job security, humane working conditions, and 
a living wage. All workers are entitled to this as a fundamental right.
A living wage must be set sufficiently high to ensure that workers earn enough 
to maintain a decent quality of living and keep their families out of poverty.1 Despite 
the constitutional guarantee of a living wage, this right remains elusive to most Filipino 
workers.
Last year, the daily minimum wage across the country increased by a range of 
PhpS.OO to PhpllO.OO, bringing the minimum wage to a range of Php306.00 to 
Php570.00.2 Nonetheless, the minimum wage rate is still well below the living wage. 
According to a study by the IBON Foundation, the living wage of a family of five in the 
National Capital Region is Php1,161.00 per day, as of February 2023.3 This means 
that a family should earn Php25,248.00 monthly in order to live decently.4
1 2002. Brenner, M. Defining and Measuring a Global Living Wage: Theoretical and Conceptual Issues. University of 
Massachusetts, Amherst, Political Economy Research Institute, Massachusetts, US.
2 
Daily Minimum Wage Rates. National Wages and Productivity Commission. Available at 
https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/regionandwages/region-vi-western-visayas/ (Accessed on May 8, 2023).
3 March 10, 2023. NCR family living wage as of February 2023. IBON Foundation. Available at https://www.ibon.org/ncr-flw-ao- 
2302/ (Accessed on May 8, 2023).
4 Id.


The high inflation rate also pushes the real value of wages to even lower levels, 
further reducing the purchasing power of Filipino workers to afford basic necessities 
such as food and transportation. Notwithstanding the slight decrease of inflation rate 
from 8.6% in February 2023 to 7.6% in March 2023,5 the gap between the minimum 
wage and the living wage for a family of five across regions remains to be a significant 
margin.
Given the foregoing, there is a need for legislation that will establish a wage 
that will uphold the rights of workers to a living - one that will allow them to meet the 
fundamental needs of their family, while also acknowledging the needs of employers 
to continue operating their business or trade.
This bill seeks to achieve this objective by amending Article 124 of Presidential 
Decree No. 442 or the Labor Code of the Philippines. More specifically, it provides that 
regional minimum wages must meet the living wage standards in the region to ensure 
the nourishment, clothing, shelter, education and general well-being of the employees 
and their families.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
JOEL VILLANUEVA
5 April 23, 2023. Summary Inflation Report Consumer Price Index (2018=100) National Capital Region: March 2023. Philippine 
Statistics Authority. Available at http://rssoncr.psa.gov.ph/article/summary-inflation-report-consumer-price-index-2018100- 
national-capital-region-march-
2023#:-:text=At%20the%20national%20level%2C%20the,8.6%20percent%20in%20February%202023. (Accessed on May 8, 
2023).


^:|| Peltate
NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE 
s. B. no.2140
23 HAY-8 P3 20
!:U!CEIVcO BV;
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE STANDARDS FOR A LIVING WAGE, AMENDING 
FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLE 124 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 
442, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF 
THE PHILIPPINES
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Article 124 of the Labor Code is hereby amended to read as 
follows:
“ARTICLE 124. Standards/Criteria for minimum wage fixing. - The 
regional minimum wages to be established by the Regional Board 
shall MEET THE LIVING WAGE STANDARDS IN THE REGION,
WHICH SHALL ENSURE THE EMPLOYEES’ AND THEIR 
FAMILIES’ NOURISHMENT, CLOTHING, SHELTER, 
EDUCATION,_be as nearly adequate a&4s-economically feasible to 
maintain the minimum standards of living-nec&ssary-for-the health, 
efficiency and general well-being of- the employees within the 
framework of the national economic and social development
prografn. In the determination of such regional minimum wages, the 
Regional Board shall, among other relevant factors, consider the 
following:
(a) The demand for-4iving wages ESTIMATED COST OF LIVING 
FOR A DETERMINED SIZE OF A FAMILY IN THE REGION;
(b) Wage adjustment vis-a-vis the consumer price index;
(c) -The-cost of-living and changes or increases-thereinf
(Cd) The needs of workers and their families;
(De) The need to induce industries to invest in the countryside;
(Ef) Improvements in standards of living;


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(F§)The prevailing wage levels;
(Gh) Fair return of the capital invested and eCapacity to pay of 
employers: AND
(I) Effects on employment gener-ation-and family income; and
(Hj) The equitable distribution of income and wealth along the 
imperatives of economic and social development.
The wages prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Title 
shall be the standard prevailing minimum wages in every region. 
These wages shall include wages varying with industries, provinces 
or localities if in the judgment of the Regional Board, conditions 
make such local differentiation proper and necessary to effectuate 
the purpose of this Title.
Any person, company, corporation, partnership or any other entity 
engaged in business shall file and register annually with the 
appropriate Regional Board, Commission and the National 
Statistics Office, an itemized listing of their labor component, 
specifying the names of their workers and employees below the 
managerial level, including learners, apprentices and 
disabled/handicapped workers who were hired under the terms 
prescribed in the employment contracts, and their corresponding 
salaries and wages.
Where the application of any prescribed wage increase by virtue of 
a law or wage order issued by any Regional Board results in 
distortions of the wage structure within an establishment, the 
employer and the union shall negotiate to correct the distortions. 
Any dispute arising from wage distortions shall be resolved through 
the grievance procedure under their collective bargaining 
agreement and, if it remains unresolved, through voluntary 
arbitration. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in writing, such 
dispute shall be decided by the voluntary arbitrators within ten (10) 
calendar days from the time said dispute was referred to voluntary 
arbitration.
In cases where there are no collective agreements or recognized 
labor unions, the employers and workers shall endeavor to correct 
such distortions. Any dispute arising therefrom shall be settled 
through the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and, if it 
remains unresolved after ten (10) calendar days of conciliation, 
shall be referred to the appropriate branch of the National Labor 
Relations Commission (NLRC). It shall be mandatory for the NLRC 
to conduct continuous hearings and decide the dispute within 
twenty (20) calendar days from the time said dispute is submitted 
for compulsory arbitration.
The pendency of a dispute arising from a wage distortion shall not 
in any way delay the applicability of any increase in prescribed wage 
rates pursuant to the provisions of law or wage order.


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As used herein, a wage distortion shall mean a situation where an 
increase in prescribed wage rates results in the elimination or 
severe contraction of intentional quantitative differences in wage or 
salary rates between and among employee groups in an 
establishment as to effectively obliterate the distinctions embodied 
in such wage structure based on skills, length of service, or other 
logical bases of differentiation.
All workers paid by result, including those who are paid on 
piecework, takay, pakyaw or task basis, shall receive not less than 
the prescribed wage rates per eight (8) hours of work a day, or a 
proportion thereof for working less than eight (8) hours.
All recognized learnership and apprenticeship agreements shall be 
considered automatically modified insofar as their wage clauses are 
concerned to reflect the prescribed wage rates. (As amended by 
Republic Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989)”
SEC. 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within thirty (30) days from 
the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Labor and Employment, in 
consultation with the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council and other relevant 
stakeholders, shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement the 
provisions of this Act.
SEC. 3. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force 
and effect.
SEC. 4. Repealing Clause. - AW laws. Executive Orders, Presidential Decrees, 
rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are deemed modified and repealed 
accordingly. All affected provisions of existing laws are deemed effective until 
such promulgation of the IRR.
SEC. 5. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days upon 
its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers 
of general circulation, whichever comes first.
Approved,