A Bohol business association is urging wage regulators to hold off on raising the minimum wage next year, warning that higher labor costs could trigger layoffs and business slowdowns amid a decline in tourism, even as workers elsewhere in the region pushed for a steep wage hike and Metro Manila announced the largest single wage increase in its history.
The Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) said in a position paper submitted July 14 to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-7 that any wage adjustment should reflect businesses’ actual capacity and the province’s economic conditions, which depend heavily on tourism and agriculture.
The chamber cited a drop in tourist arrivals and chartered flights, a 25% decline in cargo shipments that pushed up logistics costs, and inflation that averaged 4.8% from January through May before climbing to 7.4% in May. It also pointed to rising fuel prices and volatile electricity rates.
BCCI President Steven Lim said roughly 80% of the chamber’s 156 member companies are micro, small and medium enterprises, many of which took out loans to start operations and are still repaying debt.
The chamber said that without productivity gains, higher labor costs could force businesses to cut hiring, postpone expansion or lay off workers.
Instead of a wage hike, the BCCI proposed expanding income tax exemptions to cover the first P1 million pesos of annual taxable income, saying this would raise workers’ take-home pay without adding costs to employers.
The group also called for expanded non-wage support, including affordable housing, subsidized goods, better public transit and expanded health benefits.
The chamber’s position comes as workers, employers and other stakeholders were set to gather Wednesday at the Tagbilaran City Hall Atrium for a public hearing on proposed increases to the daily minimum wage in Central Visayas.
The RTWPB-7 hearing is part of a series of regional consultations ahead of a decision on a possible new wage order, as prices for basic goods and living costs continue to rise.
Labor groups are seeking a P700-peso daily wage for Class B areas and P660 pesos for Class A areas, arguing that the current 540-peso minimum is no longer sufficient to cover food, transportation, fuel and other essentials.
At a June 25 consultation in Cebu City, labor representatives urged the board to speed up approval of a wage increase, citing workers’ declining purchasing power.
Additional hearings are scheduled in Balamban, Cebu, on August 5, following earlier consultations in Cebu City and Bogo City on July 9. The region’s current wage order took effect October 4, 2025.
Separately, the Department of Energy has recognized Bohol as one of only two provinces nationwide that regularly monitors fuel prices, officials said following a July 16 meeting between the DOE’s Visayas Field Office and the provincial government at the Provincial Capitol, where both sides agreed to strengthen coordination on regulating the downstream oil industry and protecting consumers.
Engr. Jose Maleza, head of the DOE Visayas Field Office’s Oil Industry Management Division, said Bohol and Iloilo are the only provinces that continue to monitor fuel prices through local mechanisms, with Bohol doing so through the Bohol Price Monitoring Council.
Provincial Administrator Asteria Caberte, representing Gov. Aris Aumentado, reaffirmed the province’s support for DOE programs aimed at protecting consumers and maintaining a fair oil industry.
The wage debate in Central Visayas unfolds against a backdrop of sharp increases elsewhere in the country.
The Department of Labor and Employment this week announced an 85-peso increase to the daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region, the largest single wage adjustment in the region’s history.
Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said Wage Order No. NCR-27 will roll out in two tranches: a 60-peso increase effective July 25, followed by a 25-peso increase effective January 20, 2027.
Once fully implemented, the minimum wage for non-agriculture workers in Metro Manila will reach 780 pesos daily.
Workers in agriculture, small retail and service establishments with 15 or fewer employees, and manufacturing firms with fewer than 10 regular workers will see wages rise to 743 pesos.
More than 1.1 million minimum wage earners are expected to benefit, and Tolentino said the increase will also raise related benefits, including overtime pay, night shift differentials, 13th-month pay, retirement and separation pay, and service incentive leave pay.
DOLE said compliance is mandatory and that it closely monitors adherence to wage orders, citing historical compliance rates of about 94% to 95% in the region.
Employers facing wage distortion issues were encouraged to address them through collective bargaining agreements.
Labor groups called the increase insufficient to offset inflation, while business organizations raised concerns about added costs for micro, small and medium enterprises — concerns that echo those raised by the BCCI in Bohol.
Elsewhere in the country, other regions remain under wage orders set during the 2025-2026 review cycle, which produced 16 regional wage orders through the National Wages and Productivity Commission.
Recent increases include an 18-peso hike in Eastern Visayas and a 25-peso hike in the Zamboanga Peninsula, both effective June 1; a 14-peso increase in Northern Mindanao effective May 1; and a 20-peso increase in Caraga, also effective May 1.
A second-tranche increase in the Davao Region is scheduled for September 1.
The NWPC said the next nationwide wage review cycle is expected to begin in May 2026, or within 60 days of the NCR wage order’s anniversary, during which regional boards — including RTWPB-7, which is weighing the Bohol chamber’s objections alongside labor’s push for a 700-peso wage — will continue assessing economic conditions for further adjustments.