“The worker deserves his wages.” – 1 Timothy 5:18, NIV
The workers deserve fair compensation—not just any wage, but a living wage that enables them to support and protect their families under the roof of a decent home. Through their hard work and dedication, workers create the products and services that businesses turn into commodities and profit. While those at the top reap the rewards and enjoy luxuries, workers continue to struggle to make ends meet despite their essential role in the production process.
Our Scripture teaches us to value workers not as commodities for profit, but as persons with dignity, and to treat them with fairness, for we do not work only for ourselves but also for the good of others.
Today, we continue to feel the impact of the aggressive war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran. Fuel prices have surged by as much as 150%, along with the rising costs of other basic commodities, while workers’ wages remain stagnant and incredibly insufficient. Meanwhile, businesses, especially oil corporations are reaping greater profits, and the government is collecting higher tax revenues from these increases.
The government has flaunted its transport subsidy, or “ayuda,” as a solution, yet it has been widely criticized for being insufficient and for ultimately flowing straight to oil companies as payment for rising fuel costs. A more comprehensive approach could be considered, such as suspending excise taxes on essential commodities and implementing measures to curb surging oil prices. Wouldn’t this offer a more sustainable solution that benefits a broader segment of the population?
While the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been granted emergency powers, yet his actions do not reflect a sense of urgency. The public’s clamor is for the suspension of the doubled taxes on oil, yet what he has done is suspend taxes only on kerosene and liquified petroleum gas (LPG), from which only a fraction of users will benefit from–a move that benefits only a limited segment of users and provides minimal, short-term relief. This approach is widely perceived either as a reluctance to heed the people’s demands or as an attempt to sidestep the broader concerns of the Filipino public.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines supports the call to increase the wages of our workers, who have long been suffering from economic hardship even before the recent oil shock. Afford them of necessary compensations or better yet repeal the Oil Deregulation Law which effectively ceded the government’s regulatory authority over oil pricing and the oil industry to private corporations.
At the same time, the Philippine government should pursue a more independent people-centered path, one that is not constrained by the lopsided neoliberal policies long associated with the United States, but instead prioritize reforms that directly address the enduring economic challenges faced by the Filipino people. #
Signed and issued on this day, 30th of April 2026.
Chairperson
