Minimum Wage in the Philippines 2026: Current Rates by Region and Wage Order
The Philippines does not have one national minimum wage — it has seventeen. Each region sets its own daily floor through a Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), so the legal minimum a worker is owed in Metro Manila is very different from the legal minimum owed in Bicol or BARMM, and both are different again from the rate that applied a year ago.
2026 has been an unusually active year for wage orders. More than a dozen regions issued new orders, several are still rolling out second tranches, and Metro Manila is in the middle of an unusual situation where two wage orders exist for the same region — one frozen by a court, one newly issued to replace it.
This guide brings together the current daily minimum wage rate for every region in the Philippines, explains how the regional wage-setting system actually works, walks through the Metro Manila wage order dispute, and covers what employees and employers should each do to stay on the right side of the law.
Direct Answer
There is no single “Philippine minimum wage.” Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards, created under Republic Act No. 6727 (the Wage Rationalization Act), fix a separate daily minimum wage for each of the country’s 17 wage regions, based on local cost of living, the capacity of local employers to pay, and other statutory standards.[1] As of September 2026, rates range from roughly ₱401–₱436 a day in most of BARMM to ₱755 a day for non-agriculture workers in the National Capital Region under the newly issued Wage Order No. NCR-28.[6] A separate, larger NCR increase – Wage Order No. NCR-27, which would have eventually reached ₱780 – remains blocked by ongoing court litigation and has not taken effect.[6]
Every wage order also sets a lower rate for agriculture and for smaller retail/service establishments, and most 2025–2026 orders were rolled out in two tranches, so the rate that legally applies today depends on which tranche has already taken effect in that region. Employers who pay below the applicable rate face double indemnity and possible criminal liability under Republic Act No. 8188.[3]
Key Takeaways
- The Philippines has 17 wage regions, each with its own Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) and its own current minimum wage rate – there is no single national figure.
- As of September 2026, the highest non-agriculture rate is ₱755/day in the National Capital Region (Wage Order NCR-28); the lowest is roughly ₱401–₱411/day in most of BARMM.
- NCR currently has two competing wage orders: NCR-27 (₱85 total increase) remains frozen by court injunction, while NCR-28 (₱60 increase) was issued separately and is now the operative rate.
- Most 2025–2026 wage orders were implemented in two tranches, so the legally applicable rate in a region may have increased partway through the year without a new wage order being issued.
- Wage orders set separate, usually lower, rates for agriculture and for retail/service establishments employing a small number of workers.
- Underpaying the prescribed minimum wage exposes an employer to double indemnity (double the unpaid wage differential) plus fines or imprisonment under RA 8188, on top of the money claim itself.
- A wage order that raises pay for minimum-wage earners can trigger wage distortion for employees just above the new floor – a separate legal issue with its own correction process.
- Domestic workers (kasambahay) are covered by their own, separate regional minimum wage schedule under RA 10361, not the tables in this guide.
Legal Basis
| Authority | Classification | Rule Supported | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Act No. 6727 (Wage Rationalization Act) | Statute | Creates the NWPC and RTWPBs and delegates regional minimum wage-fixing authority to them | Binding law |
| Labor Code, Book III, Articles 99 and 124 | Labor Code provisions | Regional minimum wage rates and the wage distortion correction procedure | Binding law |
| Republic Act No. 8188 | Statute | Double indemnity and criminal penalties for underpayment of prescribed wage increases | Binding law |
| Employers Confederation of the Phils. v. NWPC, G.R. No. 96169, September 24, 1991 | Supreme Court jurisprudence | RTWPBs may issue across-the-board (salary-ceiling method) wage increases, not just a floor wage | Controlling jurisprudence |
| Prubankers Association v. Prudential Bank & Trust Co., G.R. No. 131247, January 25, 1999 | Supreme Court jurisprudence | Regional wage rate differences alone do not create actionable wage distortion | Controlling jurisprudence |
How the Regional Minimum Wage System Works
Before 1989, Congress set the minimum wage directly, through periodic legislation that applied more or less uniformly nationwide. Republic Act No. 6727 changed that model. It created the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), based at the Department of Labor and Employment and chaired by the Secretary of Labor, and a Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for each of the country’s administrative regions.[1]
Each RTWPB is composed of the DOLE regional director, representatives from the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry, and an equal number of representatives from workers’ and employers’ groups. A board can act on its own initiative or on a petition – typically filed by a labor federation, employers’ group, or local government – and must hold public hearings before issuing a wage order.[1] A wage order takes effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the region.[1]
In fixing a rate, the law directs each board to weigh factors specific to its own region: the region’s cost of living, the wages already prevailing in comparable jobs, the needs of workers and their families, and the capacity of local employers to pay – not a single national formula.[1] That is why rates diverge so widely from region to region, and why the Supreme Court has upheld regional wage disparity as the system working as intended rather than as a defect (discussed further below).
Current Minimum Wage Rates by Region (September 2026)
The table below reflects the daily minimum wage rate currently in effect in each region as of September 16, 2026 – that is, after accounting for any second-tranche increases that have already kicked in this year. Figures are basic daily wage only and exclude the separate cost-of-living allowances, 13th-month pay, and other statutory benefits layered on top. Source citations for every regional wage order are listed in full in the Sources section below.[6]
| Region | Non-Agriculture (₱/day) | Agriculture (₱/day) | Current Wage Order | Current Tranche Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCR (Metro Manila) | 755 | 718 | NCR-28 | Sept 11, 2026 |
| CAR (Cordillera) | 505 (all sectors) | – | CAR-24 | Dec 30, 2025 |
| Region I (Ilocos) | 505 (10+ workers) / 480 (<10) | 480 | RB1-24 | Nov 19, 2025 |
| Region II (Cagayan Valley) | 500 | 460 | RTWPB 2-24 | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Region III (Central Luzon) | 560–600* | 545–570* | RBIII-26 | Apr 16, 2026 (2nd tranche) |
| Region IV-A (CALABARZON) | 540–600* | 525 | IVA-22 | Apr 1, 2026 (2nd tranche, area-dependent) |
| Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) | 455 (all sectors) | – | RB-MIMAROPA-13 | 2026 |
| Region V (Bicol) | 455 (all sectors, 1st tranche) | – | RBV-23 | Apr 8, 2026 |
| Region VI (Western Visayas) | 525–550* | 520 | RBVI-29 | Nov 19, 2025 |
| Region VII (Central Visayas) | 500–540* | 500–540* | ROVII-26 | Oct 4, 2025 |
| Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) | 470 | 440 | VIII-25 | June 1, 2026 (2nd tranche) |
| Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) | 464 | 451 | RIX-24 | June 1, 2026 (2nd tranche) |
| Region X (Northern Mindanao) | 485–500* | 485–500* | RX-24 | May 1, 2026 (2nd tranche) |
| Region XI (Davao Region) | 540 | 525 | RB XI-24 | Sept 1, 2026 (2nd tranche) |
| Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) | 460 | 443 | RB XII-25 | Dec 15, 2025 (2nd tranche) |
| Region XIII (Caraga) | 475 (all sectors) | – | RXIII-20 | May 1, 2026 (2nd tranche) |
| BARMM | 411–436* (Sulu: 386) | 401–411* (Sulu: 376) | BARMM-05 (BARMM-04 for Sulu) | Aug 2026 (1st tranche) |
*Ranges reflect area or establishment-size classifications within the region, explained below. A dash (–) means the wage order sets one flat rate for all covered sectors rather than separate agriculture and non-agriculture figures.
Central Luzon (Region III): Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales are at ₱600 non-agriculture / ₱570 agriculture / ₱590 retail-service; Aurora province is lower, at ₱560 / ₱545 / ₱515 respectively.
CALABARZON (Region IV-A): Rates vary by area classification – the Extended Metropolitan Area and component cities are at ₱600 non-agriculture; first-class municipalities are at ₱550; reclassified first-class municipalities are at ₱565; and second-to-fifth-class municipalities are at ₱540. Agriculture is a flat ₱525 regionwide.
Western Visayas (Region VI): Establishments with more than 10 workers pay ₱550 non-agriculture; establishments with 10 or fewer workers pay ₱525. Agriculture is ₱520 regionwide.
Central Visayas (Region VII): Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and the rest of the Metro Cebu cluster (Class A) are at ₱540; the rest of the region (Class B) is at ₱500.
Northern Mindanao (Region X): Wage Category I areas are at ₱500; Wage Category II areas are at ₱485.
BARMM: Cotabato City, Lamitan City and Marawi City are at ₱436 non-agriculture / ₱411 agriculture-retail; the rest of the BARMM-05 area (Maguindanao del Norte and del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and the Special Geographic Area) is at ₱411 / ₱401. Sulu is covered separately by Wage Order No. BARMM-04 and remains at ₱386 / ₱376, with no scheduled increase under BARMM-05.
For the full historical detail behind the NCR figures specifically, see LaborCode.ph’s dedicated explainer on Wage Order NCR-27 and the ₱755 NCR rate.
The NCR Situation: Two Wage Orders, One Region
Metro Manila’s current wage situation is unusual enough to deserve its own explanation. In mid-2026, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR approved Wage Order No. NCR-27, providing a total ₱85 increase in two tranches – ₱60 starting July 25, 2026, and a further ₱25 due January 20, 2027.[6] Before the first tranche could take effect, employer groups went to court, and a Status Quo Ante Order issued July 24, 2026, followed by a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from Regional Trial Courts in Pasig and Navotas, froze the wage order’s implementation entirely.[6] As of this writing, NCR-27 remains enjoined and has never taken legal effect.
Rather than wait out the litigation, the NCR wage board went back to the drawing board and, in a separate 4-3 vote, approved a new order – Wage Order No. NCR-28 – granting a ₱60 daily increase, raising the non-agriculture rate from ₱695 to ₱755 and the agriculture/small-retail rate from ₱658 to ₱718. NCR-28 was issued September 7, 2026 and published September 11, 2026, and is not subject to the same court order, making it the operative minimum wage in NCR right now.[6]
Practically, this means an NCR employer’s current legal obligation is the NCR-28 rate (₱755/₱718), not the higher figure NCR-27 would eventually have produced. Because NCR-27’s litigation is ongoing, its status could still change; employers and employees in NCR should treat this as a live, evolving situation rather than a settled one, and confirm the current position directly with the RTWPB-NCR or NWPC before relying on any older figure they may have seen reported.
Who Is Covered – and Who Is Exempt
Regional minimum wage orders generally apply to all private-sector employees, regardless of the method or frequency by which they are paid, in every establishment in the region – whether or not the employer-employee relationship is written down in a formal contract. Several categories, however, are handled outside the ordinary wage-order tables in this guide:
- Domestic workers (kasambahay). Household helpers, cooks, gardeners, and similar domestic staff are covered by their own regional minimum wage schedule under RA 10361 (the Batas Kasambahay), not the private-sector rates above. See LaborCode.ph’s guide to Kasambahay Rights and Benefits.
- Registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs). Enterprises formally registered under RA 9178 may qualify for an exemption from the regular minimum wage, subject to conditions set by the local wage board and DTI registration.
- Workers paid by result and piece-rate workers. These workers are covered by the minimum wage law but through wage rates set by DOLE-approved rate schedules rather than a straight daily figure, so their computation works differently even though the underlying protection is the same.
- Family members dependent on the employer for support and workers in the personal service of another are treated as outside ordinary minimum wage coverage under the Labor Code’s general wage provisions.
Everyone else – probationary, regular, project-based, seasonal, and casual employees alike – is entitled to at least the applicable regional rate for actual hours or days worked.
Why Rates Change Mid-Year: Tranches, Reviews and Petitions
Most of the wage orders in the table above were not implemented all at once. To soften the impact on smaller employers, RTWPBs frequently split an approved increase into two tranches spaced months apart – the first taking effect immediately upon the order’s effectivity, the second on a later date specified in the same order. Region III, IV-A, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII and BARMM all followed this pattern in their current wage orders.
This is why an employer or employee who looks up a region’s minimum wage and finds an outdated figure is often not wrong about the wage order – they are simply looking at the first tranche after a second tranche has already taken effect, or vice versa. Because tranche dates are set out in the wage order itself, the safest way to confirm the currently effective figure for a specific region is to check that region’s NWPC wage order directly rather than relying on a remembered number.
Boards can also revisit a wage order before its scheduled review date if petitioned, particularly after a sharp change in inflation, fuel prices, or the cost of basic commodities – which is part of why 2025 and 2026 saw an unusually high volume of new orders across nearly every region.
Minimum Wage Hikes and Wage Distortion
Raising the wage floor for the lowest-paid workers in an establishment can unintentionally compress or eliminate the pay gap between them and employees one or two levels above them – a problem the Labor Code calls wage distortion.[2] Article 124 requires employers and unions (or, in non-unionized workplaces, employers and a representative of the affected employees) to negotiate a correction to restore a reasonable gap, with unresolved disputes going through grievance machinery, voluntary arbitration, or the NLRC as applicable.
Wage distortion is a genuine risk after any regional wage order but is not automatic just because a company’s pay scale spans several regions with different rates – a point the Supreme Court addressed directly in Prubankers Association v. Prudential Bank, discussed below. For a full walkthrough of the four-element test, correction formulas, and dispute process, see LaborCode.ph’s dedicated guide to Wage Distortion After a Minimum Wage Increase.
Supreme Court Cases Shaping the Wage System
1. Employers Confederation of the Phils. v. National Wages and Productivity Commission
G.R. No. 96169, September 24, 1991. ECOP challenged a 1990 NCR wage order on the ground that RTWPBs could only set a floor minimum wage, not grant an across-the-board increase to all covered workers up to a salary ceiling. The Supreme Court disagreed and upheld the board’s “salary-ceiling method,” holding that RA 6727’s purpose is broader than fixing a bare floor – it is meant to rationalize wages and ensure they are not distributed unevenly, consistent with the Constitution’s social justice mandate.[4]
Practical lesson: A regional wage board’s authority to raise pay is not limited to the lowest earners only; a wage order can validly lift pay for a defined band of workers at once, which is exactly the tranche-and-ceiling structure seen in most 2025–2026 wage orders.
2. Prubankers Association v. Prudential Bank and Trust Co.
G.R. No. 131247, January 25, 1999. A bank employees’ union argued that because a wage order raised pay in some regions and not others, the resulting gap between employees doing the same job in different regions was itself wage distortion. The Supreme Court rejected this, holding that wage distortion requires the elimination or severe contraction of intentional pay differences within the same region and pay scale – not differences between employees in different regions performing similar work. The Court noted RA 6727 expressly recognizes that regional cost-of-living disparities are a valid basis for different rates.[5]
Practical lesson: A multi-region employer cannot be forced to equalize pay nationwide every time one region gets a wage order; wage distortion analysis is done region by region, pay-scale by pay-scale.
Consequences of Underpaying the Minimum Wage
Paying below the applicable regional minimum wage is not merely a shortfall to be topped up later. Under RA 8188, an employer found to have violated a prescribed wage increase or adjustment must pay double indemnity – an amount equal to double the wage differential owed to the affected employees – on top of the underlying money claim itself.[3] The same law also carries criminal liability: a fine of ₱25,000 to ₱100,000, imprisonment of two to four years, or both, with corporate officers (president, vice-president, general manager, managing director, or responsible partners) personally answerable where the violation involves a corporation or partnership, and no eligibility for probation.[3]
Beyond RA 8188, an employee who is underpaid can also pursue the shortfall as an ordinary money claim through DOLE’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA) and, if unresolved, the NLRC, separately from any government enforcement action.
What to Do Next
If you are an employee
- Identify your region and, where applicable, your specific province, city, or establishment size classification – several regions set different rates within the same region.
- Confirm which tranche of the current wage order is in effect on today’s date, since several 2025–2026 orders have already moved to a second, higher tranche.
- Compare your actual daily basic wage against the applicable rate in the table above, excluding allowances, benefits, and other pay components that are not part of the basic wage.
- If you are underpaid, raise it with your employer or HR in writing first, and keep copies of your payslips and any response.
- If the issue is not resolved, file a request for assistance through DOLE’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA) before escalating to a formal NLRC complaint.
If you are an employer
- Confirm the specific wage order, tranche, and any area or establishment-size classification that applies to each of your work sites – a single company with branches in different provinces of the same region may already be subject to different rates.
- Update payroll systems as soon as a new tranche takes effect, not only when a brand-new wage order is issued.
- Check whether any wage increase has caused wage distortion among employees just above the new minimum, and begin the Article 124 correction process where needed.
- If genuinely unable to comply, apply for the wage order’s exemption process (available to qualified distressed establishments, new business enterprises, or BMBE-registered enterprises) rather than simply underpaying.
- Keep dated records of every wage order applied, since RA 8188 liability turns on whether the prescribed increase was actually paid on time.
Employer Compliance Checklist
- Confirm the correct wage region, and any provincial, area, or establishment-size sub-classification, for every work site.
- Confirm which tranche of the applicable wage order is currently in effect.
- Apply the correct sector rate (non-agriculture, agriculture, or retail/service) rather than a single blended figure.
- Review pay scales above the new minimum for possible wage distortion after every increase.
- File for an available exemption rather than simply underpaying, if genuinely unable to comply.
- Keep dated payroll records showing the wage order and tranche applied for each pay period.
- Monitor NWPC and the relevant RTWPB for new orders, since boards can act before a scheduled review date.
- Apply the correct, separate kasambahay minimum wage for any household worker employed directly by company officers, where relevant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in the Philippines right now?
There is no single figure – it depends on the region. As of September 2026, the highest rate is ₱755/day (non-agriculture, NCR under Wage Order NCR-28) and the lowest is roughly ₱376–₱401/day (agriculture/retail, Sulu and most of BARMM). Every other region falls somewhere in between; see the full table above.
Why does NCR have two different minimum wage figures being reported?
Because two wage orders exist for NCR at the same time. Wage Order NCR-27, which would have eventually raised the rate further, remains blocked by ongoing court litigation and has never taken legal effect. Wage Order NCR-28, issued separately, raised the rate to ₱755/₱718 and is the one currently in force.
Does the minimum wage automatically increase every year?
No. There is no automatic annual adjustment. Each RTWPB reviews and, where it finds grounds, issues a new wage order on its own timeline, whether that is annually, every few years, or off-cycle in response to a petition or a sharp change in economic conditions.
Are all workers in a region entitled to the same rate?
Not necessarily. Many wage orders set different rates for agriculture versus non-agriculture, for small versus larger establishments, or for specific provinces, cities, or area classifications within the same region, as shown in several of the regions in the table above.
Is a kasambahay (domestic worker) entitled to the rates in this table?
No. Kasambahays are covered by their own separate regional minimum wage schedule under RA 10361, which is generally set and adjusted independently of the private-sector wage orders covered here.
What can I do if my employer is paying below the applicable minimum wage?
Raise it with your employer in writing first and keep your payslips. If it is not corrected, you can file a request for assistance through DOLE’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA), and pursue a formal money claim with the NLRC if the matter remains unresolved. Employers who underpay also face double indemnity and possible criminal liability under RA 8188, independently of your own claim.
Can a small business be exempt from the minimum wage?
Only through a formal exemption process, generally available to qualifying distressed establishments, new business enterprises meeting specific criteria, or enterprises properly registered as a Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE) under RA 9178 – not automatically because a business is small or newly opened.
Conclusion
Because minimum wage-setting in the Philippines is regional rather than national, the only reliable way to know what a worker is legally owed is to check the specific wage order in force for that region, sector, and area classification – and, in 2026 especially, which tranche of that order has already taken effect. NCR’s current split between a frozen NCR-27 and an operative NCR-28 is an unusually visible example of how quickly the applicable figure can change, but nearly every region has moved at least once through a tranche or a fresh order within the past year.
Employees who suspect they are being underpaid, and employers trying to confirm they are compliant, are both better served by checking the current NWPC wage order for their specific region than by relying on a number that may already be out of date – and, where a dispute remains, by using DOLE’s SEnA process and, if necessary, the NLRC to resolve it.
Sources and Legal Citations
Statutes
[1] Republic Act No. 6727, Wage Rationalization Act, LawPhil Project; see also Department of Labor and Employment, Labor Code of the Philippines, Book III. Supports: creation of the NWPC and RTWPBs and delegation of regional minimum wage-fixing authority. Status: verified official source.
[2] Department of Labor and Employment, Labor Code of the Philippines, Book III, Article 124. Supports: the wage distortion definition and correction procedure. Status: verified official source.
[3] Republic Act No. 8188, National Wages and Productivity Commission. Supports: double indemnity and criminal penalties for underpayment of a prescribed wage increase. Status: verified official source.
Supreme Court Decisions
[4] Employers Confederation of the Philippines v. National Wages and Productivity Commission, G.R. No. 96169, September 24, 1991, Supreme Court of the Philippines, LawPhil Project. Supports: RTWPB authority to issue across-the-board wage increases using the salary-ceiling method. Status: verified official source.
[5] Prubankers Association v. Prudential Bank and Trust Co., G.R. No. 131247, January 25, 1999, Supreme Court of the Philippines, LawPhil Project. Supports: regional wage rate differences alone do not constitute actionable wage distortion. Status: verified official source.
Regional Wage Orders (National Wages and Productivity Commission)
[6] National Wages and Productivity Commission, current regional wage order pages, Department of Labor and Employment: NCR (NCR-28 / NCR-27 status), CAR (CAR-24), Region I (RB1-24), Region II (RTWPB 2-24), Region III (RBIII-26), Region IV-A (IVA-22), Region IV-B (RB-MIMAROPA-13), Region V (RBV-23), Region VI (RBVI-29), Region VII (ROVII-26), Region VIII (VIII-25), Region IX (RIX-24), Region X (RX-24), Region XI (RB XI-24), Region XII (RB XII-25), Region XIII (RXIII-20), and BARMM (BARMM-05). Supports: current daily minimum wage rates, wage order numbers, tranche structure, and effective dates cited in the rates table. Status: verified official source; rates confirmed directly from NWPC regional pages and official wage order documents as of September 2026.
Prepared by: LaborCode.ph Editorial Team
Editorial review: Reviewed under the LaborCode.ph Content Review Policy
Sources rechecked as of: September 16, 2026
Last materially reviewed: September 16, 2026
Article-level legal review status: No named lawyer-review credit has been assigned to this article.
Legal review invitation: Qualified Philippine labor lawyers interested in reviewing this article or suggesting a correction may contact LaborCode.ph.
This guide is for general educational and legal-information purposes only and is not legal advice. Regional minimum wage rates and tranche schedules change frequently and specific classifications can vary by province, city, or establishment size. Employees and employers should confirm the current wage order for their exact location and situation, and may need assistance from DOLE, the NWPC, the relevant RTWPB, or a qualified Philippine labor lawyer.
Employees in hotels, restaurants and covered establishments should separately check the rules on service-charge distribution.
LaborCode.ph is an independent information platform and is not a government agency, tribunal or law firm.
