Private-sector minimum wage earners in Negros Oriental and Siquijor will get ₱42 more a day starting Oct. 14, and household workers will get a ₱500 monthly raise on the same day.
At a glance
- Daily minimum wage, Class B areas (Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol): ₱542
- Daily minimum wage, Class A areas (Metro Cebu): ₱582
- Increase: ₱42 a day, effective Oct. 14, 2026
- Kasambahay monthly minimum: ₱7,000 to ₱7,500 (Wage Order No. ROVII-DW-06)
- Approved: NWPC, Sept. 26, unanimously by the five commissioners present
The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) unanimously approved the Central Visayas wage increase on Sept. 26. The daily minimum wage in Class B areas, which include Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Bohol, goes up to ₱542. In Class A areas (Metro Cebu) it becomes ₱582. The increase covers at least 337,476 private-sector workers across Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Kasambahay pay goes to ₱7,500
A separate order, Wage Order No. ROVII-DW-06, raises the monthly minimum wage of domestic workers from ₱7,000 to ₱7,500, also effective Oct. 14.
It covers general house helpers, yayas, cooks, gardeners, laundry workers and others who do regular household work. It does not cover service providers, family drivers, or people who do household tasks only occasionally.
Why Region 7’s board sets Negros Oriental’s wages
Negros Oriental and Siquijor are now part of the Negros Island Region, but the new region has not yet convened its own Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board. Until it does, both provinces stay under the wage orders of the Central Visayas board (RTWPB-7).
Labor group: not enough
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) questioned whether the raise is enough. Its spokesperson, Carlos Miguel Oñate, noted that the ₱42 increase is about two-thirds of the ₱60 raise granted to minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.
Workers who do not receive the new rates from Oct. 14 can bring the matter to the Department of Labor and Employment.
Why this matters
For a minimum wage earner working 26 days a month, ₱42 a day adds roughly ₱1,092 to monthly pay, based on our own computation. Employers in Negros Oriental and Siquijor must apply the new rates on payrolls covering work from Oct. 14.
Labor groups say the raise still falls short. “A P42 increase, equivalent to about two-thirds of the P60 wage hike granted to minimum wage earners in Metro Manila,” TUCP spokesperson Carlos Miguel Oñate said, questioning whether it is enough.
Until the Negros Island Region forms its own wage board, the next adjustment for Negros Oriental and Siquijor will again come from Region 7’s board.
