A price hike of over one peso per liter of fuel is forecast next Tuesday as Filipinos brace for higher expenses amidst the opening of classes on Monday.

The Department of Energy's Oil Industry Management Bureau estimated a 0.90 to 1.40 peso hike in gasoline, 1 to 1.40 peso hike in diesel, and a 1 to 1.20 peso increase in kerosene following ongoing tensions in Iran.

This came as Congress adjourned sine die without approving a legislated increase in minimum wage,

In a press conference on Friday, Palace Press Office Claire Castro said that the Palace was not against the proposed wage hike bill, a reaction to a statement made by Kabataan Partylist saying that it was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who 'killed' the bill because he favored the 'rich boys club'.

"Is President Marcos Jr. a dictator? He's not. Let's leave the discussions to the Congress and the President is not against the increased wage hike because it is for the good of workers," Castro said.

Castro said that a process must be followed prior to increasing the wage of workers.

"There are Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards in every region, and every area has wage increases for workers," Castro added.

In response to the 'killing' of the wage hike bill, Ibon Foundation research head Rosario Guzman said that the wage talks were used to deflect the Filipinos' attention on pressing issues.

“When the 100-peso wage hike proposal was passed in the Senate, it was amidst Cha-Cha talks. Now, when the 200-peso wage hike was passed in Congress, it was amidst impeachment debates. I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but will we keep using the topic of wages to deflect our attention for issues?” Guzman said.

The House of Representative on June 4 approved on third and final reading a bill approving a 200 peso daily wage hike for minimum wage workers in the private sector, while the Senate approved a bill calling for 100 pesohikje in the 19th Congress.

The bill was unable to reach the bicameral conference committee before the 19th Congress adjourned sine die, requiring it to be refiled in the 20th Congress.

Guzman said that the closing of the 19th Congress has rendered the legislated wage hike dead, despite the proposed 100 to 200 pesos amount not enough to keep up with the rising inflation rates.

“In the 17 regions in the country, the 16 regions can’t keep up with inflation. Only the National Capital Region (NCR) can keep up but it’s still not enough with the rising prices. It’s disappointing,” Guzman explained.

Studies by Ibon Foundation found that the 200-peso wage hike bill initially passed by the House of Representatives could have aided 15 regions in the Philippines to catch up to the effects of inflation. Velle White/DMS