Labor groups and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are challenging a Pasig City court order on August 3, 2026, that halted a ₱85 minimum wage increase for Metro Manila workers. The groups argue the court lacks jurisdiction, while the temporary restraining order (TRO) freezes wages at ₱695.
The legal battle centers on National Capital Region Wage Order No. 27, which mandated a two-stage pay hike totaling ₱85. The first tranche of ₱60 was set for July 25, 2026, and a second ₱25 increase was scheduled for January 20, 2027. However, a petition for declaratory relief filed on July 23 by Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Inc. led Branch 152 of the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) to issue a TRO on July 30, following a summary hearing on July 28.
This court order effectively blocked the first tranche, preventing the daily minimum wage from rising to ₱755 and keeping it at ₱695. If the full order had proceeded, the final rate would have reached ₱780 upon implementation of the second tranche.
Labor Groups Allege “Legal Snatching” and Jurisdictional Error
On Monday, August 3, a coalition including the Federation of Free Workers, SENTRO, and Partido Manggagawa filed an urgent motion for leave to intervene before Branch 152 of the Pasig RTC. These groups described the court’s action as legal snatching
of wages from more than a million minimum-wage earners in Metro Manila. They argued, A street snatcher strikes once. But if the TRO is not lifted today, this legal snatching will be repeated every working day.
Let’s fight, bosses.)
The legal argument hinges on Article 126 of the Labor Code, which prohibits courts and tribunals from issuing injunctions or temporary restraining orders against proceedings before the National Wages and Productivity Commission or regional wage boards. Labor advocates claim the petitioning companies bypassed the legal remedy under Article 123, which allows a party aggrieved by a wage order to appeal to the wage commission within 10 days of publication. The statutory design is deliberate. Congress allowed review but protected workers against the loss of wages during review,
the groups stated.
The groups further asserted that the employers had no clear and unmistakable right
to continue paying the previous minimum wage. They noted that businesses claiming financial difficulty may instead apply for exemptions before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board. Petitioners cannot invoke alleged financial incapacity as a basis to enjoin the implementation of the Wage Order,
the groups argued, stating that labor rules already provide an administrative remedy.
DOLE and RTWPB-NCR Defense of the Wage Order
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) insisted on the validity of the wage order on Friday, July 31, 2026.
Sarah Mirasol, chairperson of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR (RTWPB-NCR), maintained that the board adhered to due process. We discussed the different positions, comments of labor, the employers, as well as the government. We are confident in the fact that we followed due process, and we followed the process as provided in the guidelines for minimum wage fixing,
Mirasol said.
Despite the legal confidence of the agency, the situation on the ground remains tense. On August 3, workers staged a protest in front of the DOLE office in Manila, according to a report by Super Radyo dzBB’s Manny Vargas. Protesters carried signs stating 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗘, 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗕𝗜
(DOLE is useless).
Economic Stakes and the Call for Legislated Hikes
The conflict highlights a systemic tension between corporate financial capacity and the rising cost of living. The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition slammed the TRO as unacceptable, stating that the move delays relief for millions of minimum wage earners who have waited for a modest increase amidst soaring prices of food, electricity, transport, and housing. Workers cannot eat TROs. Families cannot survive on injunctions,
Nagkaisa said.
Renato Magtubo, Partido Manggagawa (PM) chairperson, said the intervention would argue that the RTC has no jurisdiction to stop the implementation of a wage order. He described the TRO as reflecting a disturbing lack of empathy and social sensitivity toward millions of workers who continue to struggle with soaring prices while waiting for long-overdue wage relief.
It is deeply unjust that the plea of a handful of wealthy corporations was acted upon with such urgency while the daily hardship of minimum wage earners received little consideration. Courts should not become instruments for delaying the constitutional commitment to social justice by shielding powerful business interests at the expense of workers who can barely make ends meet. Magtubo
This court-led delay has intensified calls for a shift in how wages are determined. Magtubo argued that the incident underscores the urgent need for Congress to enact a proposed ₱200 legislated wage hike and undertake comprehensive reforms of the prevailing wage determination system.
The immediate outcome now depends on whether the Pasig RTC Branch 152 lifts the TRO. Until then, the ₱60 increase intended for July 25 remains suspended, leaving a significant gap between the current ₱695 rate and the ₱755 rate intended by the RTWPB-NCR.
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