Legarda Champions Living Wage Act, Demands for Fair and Dignified Pay for Filipino Workers

Senator Loren Legarda is calling to urgently pass the Living Wage Act, a long-overdue reform to update the wage-setting framework enshrined in the Labor Code, which has remained unchanged for the last thirty-six years.

“For 36 years, our wage standards have barely moved while the cost of living has surged ahead. We cannot solve the crises of 2025 with solutions from 1989,” Legarda stressed.

Filed as Senate Bill No. 163, the proposed measure amends Article 124 of the Labor Code of the Philippines to require that regional minimum wages meet the living wage—defined as the income necessary for a worker and their family to afford adequate food, shelter, healthcare, education, and a decent standard of living. This standard is aligned with the International Labour Organization’s definition of living wage, which has gained global traction as a new labor standard.

“We are failing our workers when the law allows a minimum wage that isn’t enough to live on. It is our constitutional duty to bridge the gap between wage reality and wage justice,” said Legarda.

While Republic Act No. 6727 includes the concept of a living wage in wage-setting, implementation remains weak. Legarda’s bill strengthens the mandate by making the living wage the baseline for determining regional minimum wages, using transparent, data-driven, and consultative methods.

“Workers are not just labor inputs. Our laws must provide dignity, not desperation, to those who keep our economy alive,” Legarda concluded.