Courts urged to drop wage suit

THE NAGKAISA Labor Coalition urged Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) of Pasig and Navotas to dismiss separate employer challenges to Metro Manila’s P85 minimum wage increase, saying the courts can act on the cases without waiting for the Supreme Court (SC).

The coalition on Sunday said the courts should act on the jurisdictional issues raised in the challenges to Wage Order No. NCR-27 and remove what it described as judicial barriers to the wage order’s implementation.

The call comes days after the SC en banc directed respondents and wage agencies to comment on a petition filed by labor groups seeking to set aside the Pasig and Navotas RTC actions involving the wage order.

NAGKAISA chairperson and Federation of Free Workers President Jose Sonny G. Matula urged the Pasig RTC to grant the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General, which represents the Department of Labor and Employment, National Wages and Productivity Commission and Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region.

The coalition also called on the Navotas RTC to dismiss the pending challenge for lack of jurisdiction and allow the statutory wage-setting process to proceed.

“Let’s not wait for the SC. Neither court needs to wait for the Supreme Court before acting on matters properly before it, unless restrained or otherwise directed by the high court,” Nicey Coronacion, deputy secretary-general of Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, said in a statement.

“A court does not have to wait to be reversed before correcting an error.”

The coalition said the central issue is whether the RTCs have jurisdiction to entertain challenges to a regional wage order, pointing to the Labor Code’s specialized review mechanism.

Mr. Matula framed the appeal as an issue of judicial responsibility ahead of National Heroes’ Day.

“Valor is not measured in the battlefront alone. It could also be measured in one’s own Court — having the courage to recognize and correct a mistake, especially if the Court realizes it has no jurisdiction,” Mr. Matula said in Filipino.

Partido Manggagawa Secretary-General Judy Chan Miranda said the courts should correct any error before its consequences are borne by workers.

“Sometimes it takes more courage to rectify an error before workers are forced to pay for it another day,” she said. — Mark Joseph M. Sanchez