A video with millions of views on Facebook and TikTok claims the Philippine government has approved legislation to hike the national minimum wage at the start of incoming president Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s term. However, the government agency that sets minimum wages said the claim was false. As of May 31, no credible reports indicated the agency had increased the daily minimum wage to 820 pesos ($16), as the video claims.
“Good News! The law has been approved! Amazing new rules for company [sic],” reads Tagalog-language text overlay on a video shared in a Facebook post on May 14.
The clip, viewed more than 7.5 million times, shows a person writing on a whiteboard: “Minimum wage 820 pesos, start July 1, 2022 #BMM [sic]”.
The son and namesake of a former dictator, Marcos Jr won a landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election in May and will take office on June 30.
The Facebook post reads: “The rule BBM implemented for companies is nice.”
The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), an agency of the labor department that sets daily wages, told AFP on May 30 that the claim was “not true”.
On May 31, the NWPC website showed the minimum daily wage in the Philippines ranged from 282 pesos ($5.40) to 570 pesos ($10.90), depending on the region.
While the NWPC is set to increase minimum wages in June, weeks before Marcos takes office, the increase amounts — which vary by region — are all below the 820 pesos mentioned in the misleading posts.
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.