REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
19th CONGRESS  
SECOND  REGULAR SESSION 
HOUSE BILL NO.  9633 
_____________________________________________________________________ 
INTRODUCED BY HONORABLE EDUARDO ‘BRO. EDDIE’ C. 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. 
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 Php 5.OO to Php llO.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. NCR family living 
wage as of February 2023. IBON Foundation.  
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.  
November 28, 2023
6:26 pm


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. 
HON. EDUARDO BRO. ‘EDDIE’ C. VILLANUEVA 


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
19th CONGRESS  
SECOND  REGULAR SESSION 
HOUSE BILL NO.  9633 
_____________________________________________________________________ 
INTRODUCED BY HONORABLE EDUARDO ‘BRO. EDDIE’ C. 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 
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-
necessary-for-the health, efficiency and general well-being of- the employees within the 
framework of the national economic and social development program. In the 
determination of such regional minimum wages, the Regional Board shall, among other 
relevant factors, consider the following:  
(a) The demand for living 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-therein 
(d) The needs of workers and their families;
(e) The need to induce industries to invest in the countryside;


(f) Improvements in standards of living; The prevailing wage levels;  
(g) Fair return of the capital invested and eCapacity to pay of employers: AND  
(h) Effects on employment generation-and family income; and  
(i) 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.  
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. – All 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,