Lawmakers dissatisfied with additional P22 COLA in NCR

Several lawmakers on Tuesday described as “too little, too late" the P22 daily cost of living allowance (COLA) given to workers in Metro Manila. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Monday that the Metro Manila regional wage board approved the COLA for minimum wage earners. The COLA will likely take effect by the end of the month or 15 days after the government publishes the decision in a national daily, according to the DOLE. r Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello said the P22 COLA is not enough for families of minimum wage earners in the National Capital Region (NCR) “to weather economic woes." “Barya lang ang P22 sa harap ng nagtataasang presyo ng mga bilihin. Kulang ‘yan para tustusan ang pangangailangan ng mga kababayan natin, at lalo silang maghihirap kung ‘yan lang ang matatanggap nila," he said in a statement Tuesday. Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano meanwhile described the increase as “a grave insult to workers and their families." “Workers are not beggars, don’t give them alms," Mariano said. Northern Samar Rep. Emil Ong, who heads the House committee on labor and employment, said that while the COLA is “definitely" not enough for minimum wage workers, the increase can help provide poor families basic food subsidy. “In effect, this is subsidizing the basic food of Filipinos. The P22 can at least contribute for rice," he said in an interview. Meanwhile, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casino said that the proposed P125 across-the-board legislated wage increase, House Bill 375, should be pushed. The measure has yet to undergo committee hearings. “We shall work hard with friendly House members to get the hearings on the bill going. It is wrong for the Executive to frown on this measure. We should side with the workers who have long sought for a hike in their wages in the face of consistent rising prices and transport fares," he said. — ELR/VS, GMA News