Cotabato city: Minimum wage earners in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are set to receive an additional PHP50 in their daily pay after the Bangsamoro Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (BTWPB) granted the daily minimum wage increase for private sector workers across the region.

According to Philippines News Agency, Minimum Wage Order No. BARMM-05 was signed on Wednesday at the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) Regional Office, Bangsamoro Government Center. The order will be implemented in two tranches of PHP25 each, with the first tranche effective in August and the second on December 1.

Under the new wage rates, workers in the non-agriculture sector in Cotabato City will receive a daily minimum wage of PHP436 upon the first tranche, increasing to PHP461 beginning December 1. Those in the agriculture and retail sectors in the same area will receive PHP411 for the first tranche, with an increase to PHP436 after the second tranche.

Workers in Lamitan and Marawi cities will now receive the same minimum wage rates as those in Cotabato City. This adjustment follows a Board resolution regrouping the three BARMM cities into a single wage cluster, citing comparable living standards. Additionally, a separate resolution has grouped the Special Geographic Area with the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi under another wage cluster.

The wage increase applies to all minimum wage earners in the private sector, regardless of employment status or method of wage payment. However, it excludes household workers covered under the Batas Kasambahay, registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises with valid Certificates of Authority, and other workers exempted by law.

Issued pursuant to the Wage Rationalization Act (Republic Act 6727) and Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 13, Wage Order No. BARMM-05 will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Bangsamoro Gazette or in a newspaper of regional circulation within BARMM.