The Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) will be filing a motion for reconsideration in a bid to block the P-13 minimum wage increase in the province which was recently approved by Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB-7).

According to BCCI president Al Uy, businessmen in the province are seeking to lower the impending increase noting that the minimum wage raise in Bohol should not be equal to that of Cebu.

The BCCI pushed its proposal as it pointed out that the economic status of Bohol is not at par with Cebu’s.

Uy said that the current P310 minimum wage in Bohol is even higher than that of other areas such as Iloilo and Bacolod at P290.

A P-13 increase in minimum wage would adversely affect businessmen particularly those running establishments that have many employees and those still reeling from the 2013 Bohol earthquake, he added.

According to Uy, the BCCI had already appealed for a moratorium before the RTWPB-7 to hold the implementation of the minimum wage increase but this was not considered by the agency.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) chief in Bohol, Gerry Guidaben, previously said that the RTWPB-7 had already issued the P-13 increase for the entire Central Visayas.

Guidaben noted that wage order is now with the National Wage and Productivity Board for a review.

The daily increase of P13 in the entire region is expected to be implemented in March, said the DOLE official. (Allen Doydora)