Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — House bills seeking minimum wage hike and allowing absolute divorce in the country are among the measures filed on the first day of the 20th Congress, after similar measures failed to get enacted in the 19th Congress.TUCP Party List refiled on Monday the proposal for a P200 increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector. A bill proposing the same amount was approved on third and final reading by the lower chamber last Congress. This figure was double the proposed P100 daily minimum wage hike, which the Senate of the 19th Congress approved on final reading. But since neither chamber conceded to adopt the other’s version of the bill, and the two versions were not reconciled in time, the measure failed to reach the President’s office for signature.“This ₱200 legislated wage hike will correct that historic injustice and restore minimum wages nationwide as a safeguard against exploitation and a stepping stone towards the Constitutional mandate of living wages for all,&quot; TUCP Party List Representative Raymond Democrito Mendoza said.ACT Teachers Party List Representative Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Party List Representative Renee Co, meanwhile, filed a bill seeking to bring the daily minimum wage to P1,200. Once the increase approved by the Metro Manila wage board takes effect on July 18, minimum wage in the region will be at P695.&quot;This P50 increase is nothing but a band-aid solution to the worsening poverty of Filipino families… Nakakainsulto ito sa mga manggagawa. While corporations are raking in record profits and prices of basic commodities continue to soar, our workers are given crumbs,” Tinio said.“‘Yung nakabubuhay na sahod na 1,200 pesos a day. Ito ‘yung kailangan ng isang pamilya para mabuhay ng disente,” he added.Kamanggagagawa Party List Rep. Eli San Fernando said the P50 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila is “small change”, as he filed bills seeking to unify minimum wages nationwide, “fair” resignation pay, and abolishing labor-only contracting schemes.“Panahon na para ipantay ang minimum wage, Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao. So we can only do that by repealing RA 6727…Hindi naman makatwiran ‘yun eh. Walang logic ‘yung provincial rate,” San Fernando said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/30/pro-worker-bills-among-first-filed-at-house-for-20th-congress-1842">Pro-worker bills among first filed at House for 20th Congress</a></div><div>ABSOLUTE DIVORCE BILL</div>4Ps Party List Representative JC Abalos refiled the Absolute Divorce Bill, which was approved on final reading by the 19th Congress House of Representatives, but its counterpart bill at the Senate had remained pending.Under House Bill 108, among the grounds of absolute divorce are the same grounds for legal separation and annulment, but divorced spouses will be allowed to remarry, once the measure is enacted.“Hindi na naman natin pinipilit or ine-encourage na maghiwalay ang married couples dahil napaka-importante at napaka-invaluable, and grabe ang sanctity ng marriage…What we&#x27;re just saying here is that we must acknowledge the struggles of our countrymen na nasa-stuck sa mga ganitong toxic relationships,” Abalos said.He also filed bills seeking to increase the assistance given to beneficiaries of the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer program or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).<div>RICE SUPPLY</div>Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez filed on Monday House Bill 1 seeking to restore the regulatory powers of the National Food Authority to intervene in the rice market and prevent hoarding, profiteering, and price manipulation.Under the measure, the NFA will regain authority to register and license grain warehouses, conduct inspections, and monitor the rice trade. It will also have the power to seize hoarded rice stocks and release them to the public to counteract artificial shortages or price spikes.The proposed law also mandates the NFA to maintain buffer stocks sourced from local palay, and authorizes it to set and enforce a floor price for palay purchases.“Rice is life, and it is the soul of every Filipino family’s dining table… Hindi na pwedeng patuloy na ginagamit ang krisis sa pagkain bilang oportunidad para kumita ang iilan. Dapat may kakampi ang konsyumer sa gobyerno, at dapat din may kakampi ang magsasaka. Through this bill, we restore that balance,” Romualdez said.He and TINGOG Party List Representatives Jude Acidre and Andrew Julian Romualdez also filed bills seeking to exempt overseas Filipino workers from paying premium contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., seeking to create Philippine Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, and seeking to replace the decades-old E-GASTPE law with a more responsive and expansive voucher system for students and teachers in private schools.<div>STUDENT ALLOWANCE</div>Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste filed a measure seeking to grant a monthly P1,000 allowance to Filipino students enrolled at all levels, from kindergarten to college.“Ang estimate po ay mahigit 27 million ang mga estudyante sa Pilipinas ngayong bagong school year. Kaya pwede po natin i-multiply 27 million times 1,000, times 10 months in a school year… ito po ay sasagot para sa kanilang mga pangangailangan para sa pagkain, transportasyon, teknolohiya at school supplies,” he said.“Ito po ay dapat lang suportahan kahit na mangutang pa ang ating bansa para palakihin pa ang suporta para sa edukasyon, dahil ang mga estudyante ngayon ang mga magbabayad naman po ng buwis sa mga darating na mga taon,” Leviste added.

House bills seeking minimum wage hike and allowing absolute divorce in the country are among the measures filed on the first day of the 20th Congress, after similar measures failed to get enacted in the 19th Congress.

House bills seeking minimum wage hike and allowing absolute divorce in the country are among the measures filed on the first day of the 20th Congress, after similar measures failed to get enacted in the 19th Congress.

House bill seeking minimum wage hike, absolute divorce filed in 20th Congress

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House bill seeking minimum wage hike, absolute divorce filed in 20th Congress

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 30, 2025 10:09 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

20th Congress

absolute divorce

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