Manila: Labor groups on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to resolve their petition questioning the order issued by a Pasig regional trial court (RTC) stopping the implementation of a government-mandated minimum wage increase in Metro Manila.

According to Philippines News Agency, following the issuance of a preliminary injunction by the Pasig RTC Branch 152 against the implementation of NCR Wage Order 27, workers' groups filed a manifestation with an urgent motion before the SC, citing the lower court's Aug. 13, 2026 order as a 'supervening event' that necessitates the resolution of the issue.

The Pasig RTC set a PHP10 billion bond and extended the restraint on the implementation of the wage order while the employers' petition for declaratory relief remains pending.

'The preliminary injunction presents the very jurisdictional controversy which petitioners ask this Honorable Court to settle,' the labor groups said, adding that the courts had not heard the side of workers' groups before issuing the order in favor of the petitioner-employers.

'Due process required that workers be heard on what it means not to receive it,' they said.

The labor groups also argued that the main issue is whether the RTC had the legal authority to invoke the general rules on injunctions against a wage order issued under the system created by Republic Act 6727.

The groups cited the Labor Code provision allowing parties aggrieved by a wage order to appeal to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), as well as the law's restriction on injunctions and restraining orders involving proceedings before the wage boards and the commission.

They maintained that Rule 58 cannot create jurisdiction where a special law has withheld it, arguing that the RTC should not effectively act as a substitute wage board.

The labor groups also asked the high court to provide guidance to lower courts, workers, employers, regional wage boards, and the NWPC on the proper forum and scope of judicial review of regional wage orders.