Labor Help in Cebu and Bohol: Central Visayas Guide

Quick answer: start with your worksite and the help you need

If you work in Cebu or Bohol, identify the city or municipality where you work, then choose the official help route for your concern. Covered private-sector minimum-wage workers have a basic daily minimum of ₱582 in the named Class A areas or ₱542 in Class B from 14 October 2026; kasambahay have a separate monthly minimum. The locality list below helps you check the wage class, but does not decide whether an office has jurisdiction over your case.

Choose the help you need

Choose the help you need

Check a wage rate or an exemption

Ask RTWPB VII about the wage classification, coverage or exemption affecting the workplace. The NWPC Region VII directory lists the board at 6/F DOLE VII Building, Gorordo Avenue, Kamputhaw, Cebu City; telephone (032) 266-8068; email rb7@nwpc.dole.gov.ph. Confirm the receiving arrangements before travelling.

Ask for help with a workplace dispute

Open the official DOLE Assistance for Request Management System (ARMS) to submit or track a Request for Assistance. Choose the filer category that fits your situation and read the privacy notice before entering personal information. For onsite help, ARMS identifies DOLE regional or provincial offices, NCMB offices and NLRC Regional Arbitration Branches as receiving routes. Confirm the appropriate desk and current arrangements before travelling. Describe the issue and worksite and ask which desk should receive it. SEnA is an assistance and conciliation route; requesting assistance does not itself produce a judgment or guarantee a settlement. NCMB explains the online assistance service.

Contact a local DOLE desk

The DOLE Region VII contact directory, checked 12 November 2026, lists the following offices. Ask which office handles your actual worksite and service before travelling; these entries do not establish territorial jurisdiction or appointment availability.

• Cebu Provincial Field Office: 4th floor, DOLE VII Building, corner Gorordo and Gen. Maxilom Avenues, Cebu City. Telephone (032) 266-7424; mobile 0960-360-8516 or 0945-665-1876; email ro7_cebu@dole.gov.ph.
• Tri-City Field Office: the same 4th-floor DOLE VII Building address. Telephone (032) 234-3317; mobile 0961-696-5058, 0945-665-1879 or 0961-696-5057; email ro7_tricity@dole.gov.ph.
• Bohol Field Office: 2/F Tres Reyes Arcade, CPG Avenue, Tagbilaran City. Telephone (038) 411-0806 or (038) 501-0277; mobile 0951-132-0255; email ro7_bohol@dole.gov.ph.

If a contact is unavailable, try another listed channel or use the official ARMS route above. Confirm the receiving instructions before sending private records.

Ask about an NLRC case

For a possible labor case, ask about jurisdiction, venue and the required steps before filing. The current NLRC contact directory, checked 12 November 2026, lists Regional Arbitration Branch No. VII at 5/F Gaisano Mall of Cebu, A. Soriano Avenue, Carreta, Cebu City, Cebu 6000. The administrative contact is (032) 253-5529 or nlrc.rabvii.cebu@gmail.com; the listed case-status address is rab7query@gmail.com. This current address differs from the 2025 Citizen’s Charter entry. Confirm receiving arrangements before travelling.

The same directory lists the SRAB-7 Satellite Office (Bohol) at Janseen Heights, J.A. Clarin Street, Tagbilaran City, Bohol. It does not give a dedicated phone number or email directly under that entry. Ask RAB VII to confirm what the satellite receives and its current schedule. Do not confuse a Regional Arbitration Branch or satellite with the separate appellate division.

If you have a notice or a deadline: keep the document and seek prompt advice on the deadline that applies to your facts. This page does not calculate filing periods or determine the proper forum for an individual dispute.

Find your workplace in Cebu or Bohol

The lists group localities for the wage-order check only. It is not a map of DOLE field-office or NLRC territorial jurisdiction. Basic daily figures below apply to covered private-sector minimum-wage work for a normal day of up to eight hours, from 14 October 2026. They do not include every possible premium, benefit or deduction.

Wage classification: ROVII-27, sections 1–5. Locality names: PSA’s Central Visayas city table and municipality table, labelled as of 31 July 2025. All 10 cities and 91 municipalities listed here were also reconciled against the PSA PSGC masterfile dated 30 September 2026, checked 12 November 2026. Locality data is credited to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Check worker coverage before comparing pay

Domestic workers follow ROVII-DW-06, which sets a ₱7,500 monthly minimum from 14 October 2026. It covers occupational domestic work, including live-in and live-out arrangements, with specific exclusions. Use the Central Visayas kasambahay wage guide for that separate rule.

A small business is not automatically exempt merely because of its size. Ask the board about any claimed exclusion or approved exemption and the supporting documents. Public-sector employment and work arrangements whose employment status is disputed need a different coverage analysis.

Negros Oriental and Siquijor are geographically in the Negros Island Region. ROVII-27, section 4, retains transitional RTWPB VII jurisdiction until the new regional wage board is constituted; check for subsequent issuances before relying on that transition.

For the maintained explanation of the increase, coverage and payroll considerations, read the Central Visayas minimum-wage guide.

Prepare before you contact a desk

1. Write down the basic facts. Record the employer’s name, actual worksite and province, your role, employment dates, relevant pay periods and the issue you want addressed.
2. Gather what you have. Payslips, contracts, time records, payment records and notices can help explain the facts. These are useful preparation items, not a universal statement of mandatory filing documents.
3. Identify gaps honestly. If records are missing, make a dated factual timeline and ask the receiving desk what alternatives it accepts. Keep originals safe and provide copies only through the confirmed channel.
4. Confirm the route. Ask about the current receiving office, territorial coverage, appointment arrangements and required form or documents. Do not assume that living near an office establishes venue.
5. Keep a record of the next step. Save any acknowledgement or reference number and note the instructions received. A submitted request is not proof that a claim has been decided.

For HR and employers: check each actual worksite, worker category, effective pay period and any substantiated exception before changing payroll. For lawyers and advisers: verify the original order, current procedural rules and venue against the client’s facts; this directory is a starting point.

Do not put payslips, IDs, signatures or private case facts in public comments. Use the confirmed receiving office’s instructions for submitting records.

Need help organizing the figures or records? After confirming the applicable rate and pay period, the minimum-wage and underpayment calculator can help you make a preliminary basic-pay comparison. It does not choose the correct rate, include every pay component or decide what can be recovered. The case-document checklist helps organize records and identify gaps; it does not file a case or guarantee that an office will accept the documents. Do not enter names, ID numbers or confidential case facts into either preparation tool.

Example: Danao in Cebu is different from Danao in Bohol

Fictional example. Ana works in Danao City, Cebu; Ben works in Danao municipality, Bohol. Assuming both are covered private-sector minimum-wage workers and no valid exception applies, the post-14 October 2026 daily basic benchmarks are ₱582 and ₱542 respectively. Their home addresses do not turn these two workplaces into the same wage class. Whether either has an underpayment claim still depends on the actual dates, hours, pay and applicable rules.

Common questions

Sources and review scope

Wage rates, effective dates and cited coverage provisions checked 12 November 2026: NWPC Region VII, Wage Order ROVII-27 and Wage Order ROVII-DW-06. Geographic names above were checked against the PSA’s 30 September 2026 PSGC masterfile, with its published city and municipality tables linked beside the list. DOLE field-office and NLRC receiving-office details were checked on their current official contact directories on the same date. Contact details can change; confirm the office, service and receiving arrangements before travelling.

The cited wage provisions and current NWPC tables support the rates and coverage summarized here. All 101 listed cities and municipalities match the PSA’s 30 September 2026 PSGC masterfile. A locality list or office address does not establish jurisdiction, an exemption, an individual filing deadline or the documents required for a particular case.

This is general Philippine labor information, not individual legal advice or an official government service. A wage comparison or directory entry does not determine your rights, case outcome or the receiving office’s jurisdiction.

Is your workplace in another region? Browse regional labor help. For work in Metro Manila, use the NCR guide; for Northern Mindanao, use the Region X guide. Those regions have their own wage and office checks.