MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives remains firm in its commitment to uphold the welfare and rights of Filipino workers, Speaker Martin Romualdez said Thursday.
Romualdez made the assurance in his remarks during the 102nd birth anniversary of the founders of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) in Quezon City.
“The House of Representatives will always stand with our workers. We will continue to pass laws that protect their rights, ensure decent wages and make social protection more accessible and more humane,” Romualdez told ALU-TUCP members and guests.
Romualdez said he was speaking to them “not just as Speaker of the House, but as a friend… as a son of a worker and as someone who deeply values the dignity of every Filipino who earns an honest living through hard work.”
He paid tribute to TUCP founder, lawyer Democrito Mendoza, noting that his work shaped the labor movement in the country.
Romualdez said the legacy of Mendoza “lives on in ALU-TUCP and in the men and women who continue to defend the rights of workers with strength, dignity and heart.”
He also praised the labor group’s continued legacy, citing its leadership under Deputy Speaker and TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it is not opposed to and would implement any new law mandating a legislated wage increase.
“The refiling and filing of new bills, including on wage hike, is within the power of our legislative branch. That’s their mandate… If any proposed legislation, whatever be the subject matter, becomes a law, it is the duty of the executive department, in this case the DOLE, to implement the same,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said in reaction to the refiling of new measures providing for a legislated wage increase.