Last updated: September 17, 2026

The legal tug-of-war over Wage Order NCR-27 has gotten messier, not clearer. Here’s what’s changed since the injunction was granted on August 13.

DOLE didn’t just sit on the injunction. On August 17, Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino filed a motion for reconsideration before Pasig RTC Branch 152, asking the court to junk the case entirely. DOLE’s argument has three parts: the court had no jurisdiction to begin with, administrative remedies weren’t exhausted before going to court, and Article 126 of the Labor Code specifically bars courts from issuing injunctions against wage board proceedings in the first place.

At the same time, something interesting happened with the ₱10 billion bond the court required. Readycon and R-II Builders, the two construction firms behind the case, never posted it. Instead, on August 16, they filed their own motion asking the court to lower the bond amount, arguing ₱10 billion was calculated based on region-wide impact even though their case never sought relief for all NCR employers, just themselves.

That gap (TRO expired, bond never posted, injunction technically not yet in force) is now the center of a new argument. A labor group, AMWEA-PTGWO, went public on August 30 claiming that Wage Order No. 27 is, in their reading, already legally in effect, and that companies should be paying the ₱60 increase right now. Their reasoning: no bond, no effective injunction, no legal basis to keep withholding the increase.

Important: this is one labor group’s legal position, not a DOLE advisory or a court ruling. DOLE hasn’t echoed this specific claim yet, and there’s still no official guidance clarifying what wage floor employers should be using. Treat this as a developing legal argument, not settled fact.

Timeline So Far

• July 25: ₱60 first tranche of Wage Order NCR-27 set to take effect
• July 30: Pasig RTC issues a 20-day TRO blocking implementation
• August 4–7: Senators, DOLE, the Palace, and even labor and employer groups jointly push for the TRO to be lifted
• August 13: TRO expires on schedule, but the court converts it into an indefinite preliminary injunction, conditioned on a ₱10 billion bond
• August 16: Petitioners fail to post the bond, instead ask the court to reduce it
• August 17: DOLE files a motion for reconsideration, seeking to junk the case outright
• August 30: Labor group AMWEA-PTGWO argues the wage order is technically already enforceable since the bond was never posted
• September 7: RTWPB-NCR approves Wage Order No. 28, a fresh ₱60 daily increase, separate from NCR-27. Forwarded to the NWPC for affirmation. September 7–8: Labor Secretary Tolentino tells Congress this is meant to deliver the same ₱60 first tranche while the NCR-27 legal fight continues, explicitly framing NCR-28 as a substitute, not an addition.
• September 8–9: Lawmakers, including party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (ACT-CIS) and Kabataan-aligned Rep. France Castro, publicly question the move, arguing that accepting NCR-28 as a stand-in implicitly concedes NCR-27 had a legal defect, and that treating NCR-28’s ₱60 as equivalent to NCR-27’s first tranche is legally questionable.
• September 11: NCR-28 published in the Daily Tribune, with the NWPC listing an effectivity date of September 26, 2026.
• Current status: NCR-27 remains under continuing litigation before both RTC Pasig Branch 152 and RTC Navotas Branch 287, per the NWPC’s own posted notice. NCR-28 is proceeding on a separate, parallel track toward a September 26 effective date.

What This Means for Workers and Employers Right Now

• The ₱60 already paid out (July 25 onward) stays with workers. This was confirmed early on and hasn’t changed: no refunds, no clawbacks, regardless of how the case goes.
• Update: The “should employers keep paying the ₱60 going forward” question just got a new answer. On September 7, the wage board approved a separate order, Wage Order No. 28, granting the same ₱60 increase on its own legal track, unconnected to the injunction blocking NCR-27. Labor Secretary Tolentino has said this is meant to function as a substitute for the stalled NCR-27 first tranche while that case continues.
• Once NCR-28 is published and affirmed by the NWPC, expected around September 26, 2026, employers will have a litigation-free legal basis to pay the ₱60 going forward, sidestepping the NCR-27 injunction entirely. Until then, employers unsure of their obligations should still hold off on major payroll changes.
• Importantly, NCR-28 does not resolve the underlying NCR-27 case. The Pasig and Navotas courts are still expected to rule on the original petition, and some lawmakers argue that accepting NCR-28 as a workaround effectively concedes that NCR-27 had a legal defect in the first place.
• The ₱25 second tranche, originally scheduled for January 20, 2027, remains just as uncertain under NCR-27, since the injunction covers the wage order as a whole. NCR-28 is a one-time ₱60 tranche and does not address this second increase.
• Three tracks are now running in parallel: DOLE’s motion to junk the NCR-27 case, the petitioners’ motion to reduce their bond, and the NWPC’s pending affirmation of NCR-28. Any one of these resolving could change the picture fast.

We’ll keep tracking this and update again once DOLE issues clear guidance, the court rules on either pending NCR-27 motion, or NCR-28 is formally published

Updated FAQ

Is the wage hike in effect right now?

There’s no official DOLE advisory confirming this either way as of September 5, 2026. A labor group argues it’s technically in effect because the required bond for the injunction was never posted, but DOLE hasn’t made that same declaration, and the underlying case is still being fought in court. We’d hold off on treating this as confirmed until DOLE weighs in directly.

Do I need to pay the ₱780 minimum wage now?

Still no clear official guidance. There are competing arguments right now (one saying the injunction never properly took effect, another still treating it as blocking the wage order), so employers should watch for a direct DOLE advisory before making payroll decisions.

Will I have to return the ₱60 I already received?

No. This has been consistent throughout: the ₱60 tranche already paid starting July 25 stays with workers no matter how the case resolves.

When will this actually be resolved?

Still no set timeline. There are now two pending motions (DOLE’s motion for reconsideration and the petitioners’ motion to reduce their bond), and either one could shift the situation before the underlying case is even decided on the merits.

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Blogger’s Corner update:

Grabe, parang teleserye na itong NCR-27 saga. Hindi na lang basta injunction, may bond issue pa na hindi na-post, tapos may labor group na nagsasabing dapat bayad na pala talaga ngayon. Pero wag muna tayo mag-assume, kasi DOLE mismo hindi pa nagsasabi nun officially. Patuloy pa rin akong nag-tra-track dito, kasi mukhang malayo pa bago matapos ang drama na ‘to.