MANILA – Labor groups have asked the Supreme Court (SC) to resolve their petition questioning a Pasig regional trial court’s (RTC) order that halted the implementation of the mandated minimum wage increase in Metro Manila.

The workers’ groups filed a manifestation with an urgent motion before the SC following the issuance of a preliminary injunction by the Pasig RTC Branch 152 against NCR Wage Order No. 27.

They described the RTC’s Aug. 13, 2026 order as a “supervening event” that requires the high court to immediately resolve the jurisdictional issues raised in their petition.

The Pasig RTC had set a PHP10-billion bond and extended the restraint on the wage order’s implementation while a petition for declaratory relief filed by employers remains pending.

“The preliminary injunction presents the very jurisdictional controversy which petitioners ask this Honorable Court to settle,” the labor groups said.

They argued that the RTC issued the injunction without first hearing the workers’ side, stressing that the wage increase directly affects their livelihood.

“Due process required that workers be heard on what it means not to receive it,” they said.

The labor groups also questioned whether the RTC had authority to issue an injunction against a wage order promulgated under the framework established by Republic Act 6727, or the Wage Rationalization Act.

They cited provisions of the Labor Code allowing parties aggrieved by a wage order to appeal before the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

The groups also pointed to the law’s restrictions on the issuance of injunctions and restraining orders involving proceedings before regional wage boards and the NWPC.

They argued that Rule 58 of the Rules of Court, which governs preliminary injunctions, cannot confer jurisdiction that a special law has withheld from regular courts.

The workers’ groups maintained that allowing the RTC to halt the wage order would effectively allow it to assume the functions of a wage board.

They asked the SC to provide guidance to lower courts, workers, employers, regional wage boards and the NWPC on the proper forum and scope of judicial review involving regional wage orders.

The dispute centers on NCR Wage Order No. 27, which mandates a minimum wage increase for workers in Metro Manila. The Pasig RTC’s injunction has temporarily prevented the wage order from taking effect while the employers’ case is pending.