Labor leader and activist Jerome Adonis believes businessmen are only bluffing whenever they say they cannot afford to raise wages claiming it will lead to bankruptcy and eventual closure of businesses. 

Adonis, a senatorial candidate, asserted this when he faced ABS-CBN’s Harapan 2025 on Tuesday. 

Adonis is pushing for a P1,200 daily minimum wage under the Makabayan coalition.

“Bluffing lang po yan, panakot yan,” Adonis said. “Una, lumalabas taon-taon yung survey na tumaas ang productivity ng mga manggagawang Pilipino even during the COVID. Pangalawa, kumita ng milyon hanggang bilyon ang mga korporasyon na nag-negosyo sa Pilipinas.” 

DOLE approves minimum wage hikes for Bicol, Zamboanga Peninsula

“And thirdly, ipinagmamalaki palagi ng administrasyon ni Bongbong Marcos, one of the fastest growing economy ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas sa rehiyon ng Asya. Ang ibig lang sabihin nun nagtrabaho kami, ang mga manggagawa, ang working people nagtrabaho and therefore, on the other hand, ma-translate naman yan sa dagdag sahod,” he added.

 Adonis said that there should be a single salary rate for all Filipinos no matter where he lives because it is not true that it is cheaper to live in provinces as compared to Metro Manila. 

At the moment, workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) receive P645 per day while those in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) get P361 daily.

 “Tawag namin diyan 'libing' (wage),” Adonis said. “Nakalagay sa ating Constitution ng Pilipinas ang nakalagay po living wage, nakabubuhay na sahod.”

 “Dapat talaga mag-improve. Ang working people ay tinatawag na backbone of the economy so hindi po uunlad ang isang bansa kung wala yung mga manggagawa.”

 Marcos says P200 across-the-board wage hike needs further study

Adonis is also against contractualization of employees may it be in public or private institutions.

 He described the administrations of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Rodrigo Duterte as the worst times for workers considering the implementation of Martial Law and the War on Drugs, respectively.

 About 72 leaders and organizers were allegedly killed during Duterte’s time after being linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines; 29 other leader organizers are still in prison over supposed trumped up charges.

 “Totally viniolate talaga ng Duterte administration yung fundamental rights ng mga manggagawa, ,of course nagpapatuloy pa rin yan sa panahon ni Bongbong Marcos,” Adonis said.  

 BASIC SERVICES, LAND REFORM

Adonis, the secretary general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), is also advocating for affordable basic commodities and one way of doing this, he said, is through the removal of the oil deregulation law.

 “Kung hindi pa kayang tanggalin ang oil deregulation law, tanggalin ang excise tax, VAT sa presyo ng produktong petrolyo pagkain, tubig, kuryente at gamot. Pag inalis ang excise tax at VAT sa produktong petrolyo, ang pag-aaral namin 13 pesos agad ang baba ng kada litro. Kung oil ang nagpapataas, oil din magpapababa,” he explained. 

He is also calling for genuine land reform and national industrialization. If elected into the Senate, he guaranteed that he will file bills regarding these. 

“Walang ibang long-term solution sa krisis natin ngayon kungdi ipamigay nang libre ang lupa sa mga magsasaka, suportahan ng gobyerno, pondohan yan nang malaki para ma-secure once and for all yung pagkain ng mga Pilipino at di tayo aasa sa import. And from here, yung natural resources pakinabangan natin para sa pagtatayo ng ating industriya unti-unti,” Adonis said.   

Support should also be given to farmers to reduce importation of rice and other commodities, according to Adonis. Otherwise, he said the local industries will be killed by importation.