Aquino admits he can't act on wage hike

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday distanced himself from the issue on wage hikes, stressing the matter is not within his powers. "Hindi dinidikta ng Presidente iyon," Aquino told reporters when asked how much increase in the daily wage he would favor. Aquino was in General Santos Thursday as a keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of the 23rd National Convention of the Prosecutors’ League of the Philippines. He said it is the Regional Tripartite Wage Board that is mandated by law to discuss and to determine the appropriate wage hike. "Iyong ako ang magsasabi... I’m influencing the process that is dictated by law," Aquino said. He said he cannot give any input because technically, he is not part of the Regional Tripartite Wage Board. "Kaya nga ginawang regional [ang mga wage boards] para mas makatotoo, mas inuugnay iyong iba’t ibang sector na kabilang dito sa tripartite wage board na ito. Iyong kanilang usapin mas magiging makatarungan sa paghahanap ng kanilang mga... di ba?" he said. "Iyong data ko po pang-national, not necessarily appropriate for each and every region," he further said. In an earlier interview with reporters Wednesday, the President said some Regional Tripartite Wage Boards have started looking into the applications for wage increase. "In certain areas na nandoon na ang trigger point na 5 percent na inflation rate, nagkaroon na yata [where the 5 percent inflation rate has already been reached as trigger point], ... applications for wage [increases are already] being heard by the tripartite wage boards," he said. In a resolution issued Wednesday, the Department of Labor and Employment said the steady rise in oil prices and the ballooning inflation are enough to justify a wage hike in the National Capital Region. "There is a need to review the current NCR minimum wage rates in consultation with labor management and other concerned sectors, in light of these continuing price increases," said the agency's NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in a two-page resolution. Wage boards Meanwhile, at a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the wage boards are composed of representatives from the labor sector, management and government and they will discuss and determine the proper wage hike. "Syempre may proposal, counter-proposal, and they will determine what will be the more reasonable wages to be given to the employees. The regional wage boards have the duty and obligation to determine the proper wages in their respective regions," he said. He added the President does not involve himself in the determination because the best persons to determine the proper wage would be those in their respective regions because they would know the working and business conditions in their areas. "It’s not that the President has no power but the wage boards themselves have the power to do so. The President does not need to be involved in determining when or how much the wage should be," Lacierda said. On the salary of government employees, he said they are governed by the Salary Standardization Law. "We would have to comply with the law—anything we do should be in accordance with the Salary Standardization Law. So we’re limited by what the law says. The law provides a percentage increase there so we have to respect that," he said. Asked if there will be any good news to laborers on May 1, he said the economic managers are considering some options on how to help the people, government employees as well as private sectors but there is not firm recommendation yet. "It’s something that we’re studying. As to whether it will come by Labor Day, that’s something I would not be able to answer with you right now. Pag-aaralan muna ‘yan, But insofar as looking at what solutions we can do to help alleviate the public, pinag-aaralan po ‘yan ng mga economic managers at ng gobyerno," he said. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News