A second wage order for an estimated 1.1 million workers in Metro Manila took effect on Saturday, September 26, 2026, even as an earlier wage order remains pending in court. The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) announced that Wage Order (WO) No. 28, issued on Sept. 7 by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in the National Capital Region (NCR), is now in effect.
The new order increases minimum wages in the NCR by P60, bringing the rates to P695 for the nonagricultural sector and P658 for the agricultural sector.
Legal Dispute Over Previous Wage Order
The implementation of WO 28 comes while a previous order, WO 27, remains tied up in legal proceedings. Issued in July, WO 27 was intended to provide an P85 increase delivered in two tranches: P60 beginning July 25 and P25 in January 2027. Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino described that earlier increase as “historic.”
The order was challenged on July 23 before the Pasig Regional Trial Court-Branch 152 by R-II Builders Corp. in Diliman, Quezon City, and Readycon Training & Construction Corp. in Pasig City. On July 30, Presiding Judge Marie Joyce Manongsong issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against WO 27.
Statutory Bars and Court Rulings
The issuance of the TRO occurred despite the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989 (Republic Act 6727), which prohibits any court or tribunal from issuing a preliminary or permanent injunction or TRO against proceedings before the Regional Boards or the Commission.
Judge Manongsong acknowledged this legal provision but stated the necessity of determining how the interests of workers should be weighed against the constitutional right of businesses to expansion, growth, and reasonable returns on investment.
Following the lapse of the TRO on Aug. 13, the judge issued a writ of preliminary injunction to extend the suspension of WO 27. This injunction required a P10-billion bond, which R-II Builders and Readycon have not yet posted.