An increase in the minimum wage in the country may be implemented soon to ensure that the labor sector will be protected from the rapid expansion of the economy, President Ferdinand R. Marcos said.

During a courtesy call at Malacañan Palace of International Labor Organization (ILO) Director General Gilbert F. Houngbo on Tuesday, President Marcos said his administration, through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), has sat down with the workers and labor unions and organizations to strike a balance and alleviate the “inflationary pressures” on workers.

“But I think our negotiations with workers, with the unions, with the different negotiations, we will be able to come to a good working number, a good compromise,” he said.

The current minimum wage in the Philippines ranges between Php372 and Php470, depending on the region where the business is located.

Marcos said rapid industrialization and expansion of the economy could hurt the labor sector.

For his part, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who was also present during the meeting with the ILO chief, said they might be able to resolve the issue within the week.

Laguesma echoed the President’s remarks, saying that the majority of the businesses in the Philippines are in the category of micro and small.

Micro businesses are those with only one to nine workers, while small are with 10 to 99 workers, Laguesma pointed out.

Laguesma added they will be presenting to the President and the Cabinet the Philippine Development Plan 2020-2023, which have been both endorsed by the labor sector and DOLE, before holding a national tripartite conference.

Marcos also told Houngbo that his administration is working overtime to address the problem of illegal recruitment and human trafficking as these two issues have been besetting the country for a long time now.

“That’s a big problem for us here in the Philippines. Illegal recruitment and really, you take it a little further, it becomes human trafficking. And we seem to have become a target for many of these unscrupulous activities,” the President said.

Houngbo, on the other hand, said the Philippines can be used as an example of a nation that has taken steps to implement measures to address the issues of hounding the labor sector such as human trafficking.

“There are things that are great, there are things that we can use and the Philippines as an example, as a model,” the ILO official said.