On September 26, Metro Manila's minimum wage rose by sixty pesos under Wage Order NCR-28, lifting the daily floor for nonagricultural workers to seven hundred fifty-five pesos. The increase arrives not as a clean beginning but as a detour — the original wage order that promised this same raise was frozen by a court injunction filed by construction contractors, leaving the Department of Labor to chart a new path toward the same destination. In the longer arc of labor and capital negotiating the worth of a day's work, this moment is both a small victory and a reminder of how fragile such gains c
Metro Manila minimum wage rises P60 to P755 under new DOLE order
The wage order emerged from consultation. Now it takes effect.
Mark
So this is a straightforward wage increase for Metro Manila starting this weekend?
Mimi
Yes, but it's more complicated than it looks. The sixty-peso bump was supposed to happen in July under a different wage order, but contractors sued and got a court to block it.
Luke
Wait—so this new order, NCR-28, is essentially the same sixty-peso increase that was already supposed to happen? Why did they need to issue a new order at all?
Mimi
That's the key question. The old order got stuck in court. This new one seems to be a way around that—same amount, fresh legal footing.
Mark
And the contractors who sued—do we know why they challenged the original increase?
Luke
The source doesn't say. We know they filed suit and won an injunction, but their actual argument isn't explained. That's a gap.
Mimi
It matters too, because if their legal challenge is still valid, it could apply to this new order as well.
Mark
So workers get the raise on Saturday, but it might not stick?
Luke
Possibly. And there's also the twenty-five peso increase that was supposed to come in January under the old order. That's still floating somewhere in the court system.
Mimi
Right. So the full eighty-five peso increase that was promised—workers have only gotten sixty of it, and the rest is in legal limbo.
Mark
How many people does this affect?
Luke
The source doesn't give a number. We know it covers all nonagricultural workers in Metro Manila, plus agricultural workers and small employers, but there's no figure on how many that actually is.
El Pulso
- Workers who were promised a sixty-peso raise in July finally receive it in late September — two months late and through an entirely different wage order.
- The original Wage Order NCR-27 remains frozen by a Pasig City court injunction, filed by two construction contractors who challenged its legality before it could take effect.
- The Department of Labor responded by issuing NCR-28, a new order that replicates the first installment of the blocked raise and applies to all employers across the National Capital Region.
- The second promised installment — an additional twenty-five pesos set for January 2027 — remains legally uncertain, its fate tied to the outcome of the ongoing court challenge.
- Compliance monitoring is now underway, with the labor department signaling it will enforce the new floor across small service, retail, and manufacturing establishments.
On September 26, Metro Manila's minimum wage rose by sixty pesos under Wage Order NCR-28, lifting the daily floor for nonagricultural workers to seven hundred fifty-five pesos. The increase arrives not as a clean beginning but as a detour — the original wage order that promised this same raise was frozen by a court injunction filed by construction contractors, leaving the Department of Labor to chart a new path toward the same destination. In the longer arc of labor and capital negotiating the worth of a day's work, this moment is both a small victory and a reminder of how fragile such gains can be when challenged in court.
Starting September 26, minimum wage workers in Metro Manila receive a sixty-peso daily increase under Wage Order No. NCR-28, issued by the Department of Labor and Employment. Nonagricultural workers now earn a floor of seven hundred fifty-five pesos per day, up from six hundred ninety-five, while agricultural workers move from six hundred fifty-eight to seven hundred eighteen. The order covers all employers in the National Capital Region, including small service and retail shops and manufacturing operations.
The road to this raise was anything but straightforward. An earlier wage order — NCR-27 — had promised workers an eighty-five peso increase in two stages: sixty pesos in July, followed by twenty-five more in January 2027. Before either installment could be paid, two construction contractors filed suit questioning the order's legality. A Pasig City court granted an injunction, halting the entire wage hike.
With NCR-27 frozen in legal limbo, the labor department issued NCR-28 to deliver at least the first portion of what workers were owed. The new order emerged from the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, where labor, employer, and government representatives negotiated the figure together.
What remains unresolved is the fate of the remaining twenty-five peso increase originally promised for January. That question still sits with the courts. For now, Saturday's sixty-peso lift is what workers can count on — a partial fulfillment of a promise that has been delayed, rerouted, and is not yet fully kept.
Starting Saturday, September 26, minimum wage workers across Metro Manila will see their daily pay climb by sixty pesos. The Department of Labor and Employment has issued Wage Order No. NCR-28, a directive that applies to every employer in the National Capital Region and takes effect immediately.
For workers in nonagricultural sectors—the vast majority—the new floor is seven hundred fifty-five pesos per day, up from six hundred ninety-five. Agricultural workers gain similar ground, moving from six hundred fifty-eight to seven hundred eighteen. The increase reaches across the full spectrum of small employers too: service and retail shops with fifteen workers or fewer, and manufacturing operations with fewer than ten on the payroll. All must comply.
The wage order emerged from the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board for the National Capital Region, a body where labor representatives, employers, and government officials sit down together to hash out these numbers. That process of consultation happened. The order was issued. Now it takes effect.
But the path to this moment has been tangled. A previous wage order—NCR-27—promised workers an eighty-five peso increase split into two pieces: sixty pesos in July, then twenty-five more in January 2027. That order never made it off the ground. Two construction contractors, Readycon Training & Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Corp., filed suit challenging its legality. A Pasig City court sided with them, issuing an injunction that froze the whole thing in place.
With NCR-27 stalled in the courts, the labor department moved forward with NCR-28. The new order delivers the same sixty-peso bump that was supposed to arrive in July under the blocked predecessor. Agricultural workers get their raise too. The department says it will watch to make sure employers actually pay what the law now requires.
What happens to the remaining twenty-five peso increase that was promised for January remains unclear. The previous order sits in legal limbo. Whether workers will eventually see that money, or whether the courts will kill it entirely, is still an open question. For now, Saturday brings the sixty-peso lift. That is what is certain.
Citas Notables
All employers in the National Capital Region are required to comply with Wage Order No. NCR-28— Department of Labor and Employment
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