DOLE launches “Benteng Bigas Meron na” program in Subic Bay Freeport; benefits 300 workers

Around 300 qualified workers were among the first wave of beneficiaries of the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) na” program launched by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño recalled that when President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. appointed him to lead the agency, he was asked to “take care of Subic Bay workers.”

“Here in Subic Bay, we regard our workers as the bloodline of our economy, and I’m glad that this program would greatly help the minimum wage earners here,” Aliño said. 

The BBM program, in coordination with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Labor Department, was launched yesterday, September 4, 2025, at Cresc Incorporated in the Moonbay Marina, Central Business District here.

SBMA Labor Department manager and OIC-Deputy Administrator for Legal Affairs Atty. Melvin Varias, said that the DOLE-led program aims to bring ₱20-per-kilo rice to the workforce of the Subic Bay Freeport. 

Varias added that the program here, spearheaded by DOLE Chief Labor and Employment Officer Reynante Lugtu, is a flagship program of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. to stabilize rice prices and make basic goods more accessible. 

Kazutomo Murata, Cresc Inc. president, thanked DOLE and SBMA for being chosen as among the first companies to benefit from the program. 

“I am glad that you have President Marcos, who loves you. We don’t have this in Japan,” said Kazutomo. 

Meanwhile, Aliño added that aside from the government programs, the agency has three projects that would benefit the workers, namely: dormitories, to bring workers closer to their place of work; development of the Mini Golf Course into a park, to provide a place for unwinding; and the e-bus, which the agency is working on at least a very minimal fare, if not free. 

The beneficiary workers were given a maximum of ten kilos each, and will be paid through salary deduction by the Cresc Inc. administration.  

Cresc Incorporated is a leading consumable printer ink manufacturer based in Japan. The company is the second company in the Subic Freeport in the printer refilling trade. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA workers to Aquino: Sign wage hike

The more than 1,500 employees of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) urged President Benigno Aquino 3rd to sign their salary adjustment based on the existing Salary Standardization Law.

SBMA Employees Association (SEA) president Elmer Libo said the approval of the salary adjustment will uplift the morale of all employees who have worked so hard for the agency.

A DBM Memo to Aquino recommends the adoption of Salary Standardization Law (SSL) III, 4th Tranche Salary Rates for SBMA employees effective January 1, 2016, which will make it at par with other national government agencies.

SBMA employees have been conducting noise barrages during their break time since Monday to express their sentiment and call attention to their plight. (Patrick Roxas, Manila Times)

PHOTO:
SBMA employees shared a simple meal of dried fish, tomatoes and rice during a boodle fight in front of the agency's administration building as they call on President Aquino to urgently sign their salary adjustment based on SSL III Tranche 4 before election ban begins. (Photos by Jun Dumaguing)

http://www.manilatimes.net/sbma-workers-to-aquino-sign-wage-hike/251458/

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Central Luzon workers get pay hike

Workers in Central Luzon will soon get higher pay after the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) approved on Wednesday (Dec. 9) the newest wage order for the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement that Wage Order No. RB III-19, which raises by P15 per day the minimum wage for workers in the six provinces and P20 per day in Aurora has been unanimously approved.

“We have unanimously affirmed the wage order for workers in retail and services establishments with less than 16 workers,” Baldoz said, adding that the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) was able to meet its target that all of the country’s 30 minimum wage rates will be above the poverty threshold level before President Aquino’s term ends.

“This is a victory not only for Filipino workers but for all Filipinos,” Baldoz said.

The increase of P15 per day in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales will be given in two tranches: the first P8 upon implementation of the wage order and the next P7 on May 1 next year.

Similarly, for Aurora province, the increase of P20 per day shall also be given in two tranches. The first tranche of P10 will be given upon the implementation of the order and the additional P10 on May 1, 2016.

Dole Regional Director Ana Dione said that with the pay hike, the minimum wage in Central Luzon now stands at P364 per day.

“With the increase, the highest minimum wage in the region is now P364, which is above the poverty threshold of P248 for a family of five as of December 2012,” she said.

The latest Dole-NWPC wage order applies to all minimum wage earners in the private sector in Central Luzon regardless of position, designation, status of employment, and methods by which the wages are paid.

Those who are not covered by the wage order are “kasambahays” and persons employed in personal service of another, including family drivers and workers of barangay micro business enterprises.

In issuing the wage order, the Regional Wage Board encourages establishments to adopt productivity improvement schemes such as time and motion studies, good housekeeping, quality circles, and labor management cooperation, as well as to implement gain sharing programs.

“Complaints for non-compliance with Wage Order RB III-19 shall be filed with Dole Regional Office III and shall be subject of enforcement proceedings under Article 128 of the Labor Code,” Dione said.

Any person, corporation, trust, or firm, partnership, association, or entity which refuses or fails to pay the prescribed wage rates shall be subject to penal provisions under Republic Act 6727, or the Minimum Wage Fixing Law. (JTD/Sun.Star Pampanga)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2015/12/11/central-luzon-workers-get-pay-hike-446459

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