Philippines minimum wage 2026: rates by region

The Philippines has no single national minimum wage. Each region’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) sets a daily rate by wage order, and the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) publishes the current orders. Rates cover a normal working day of up to eight hours.

NCR minimum wage (Metro Manila)

Wage Order No. NCR-28 took effect on 26 September 2026. It added ₱60 a day:

Worker category	Daily minimum
Non-agriculture	₱755
Agriculture; retail and service businesses with 15 or fewer workers; manufacturers with fewer than 10 workers	₱718

An earlier order, NCR-27, granted ₱85 in two tranches from 25 July 2026. Its implementation was stopped by a Regional Trial Court order, and petitions about it are with the courts. NCR-28 is the rate in force. Check the NWPC site before you set pay, because the NCR-27 case could change the figure.

Philippines minimum wage 2026 by region

Most Australian businesses hire from Metro Manila, the surrounding provinces and the large cities of the Visayas and Mindanao. The table shows the range of daily minimums for each region, from the lowest category to the highest, using the NWPC summary dated 10 October 2026.

Region	Wage order	Effective	Daily minimum range
NCR (Metro Manila)	NCR-28	26 September 2026	₱718–₱755
CALABARZON (Region IV-A: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon)	IVA (CALABARZON)-23	26 October 2026	₱550–₱645
Central Luzon (Region III)	RBIII-26	30 October 2025	₱515–₱600 (reached in tranches)
Central Visayas (Region VII, incl. Cebu)	ROVII-27	14 October 2026	₱542–₱582
Western Visayas (Region VI, incl. Iloilo)	RBVI-29	19 November 2025	₱520–₱550
Davao Region (Region XI)	RB XI-24	13 March 2026	₱525–₱540 (reached in tranches)
Cordillera (CAR, incl. Baguio)	CAR-24	30 December 2025	₱505

Two of these orders are very new. In Central Visayas, ROVII-27 adds ₱42 a day from 14 October 2026: ₱582 in Class A areas (Expanded Metro Cebu, including Cebu City, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu) and ₱542 elsewhere. In CALABARZON, the new rates apply from 26 October 2026. The rate varies by city or municipality class and by sector, so look up your hire’s location in the wage order itself.

What the daily rate means per month

Wage orders set a daily figure. As a rough guide, ₱755 a day over 261 working days a year (a five-day week) comes to about ₱16,400 a month. On a six-day week it is higher. The exact monthly equivalent depends on the employee’s work schedule and how paid rest days are treated, so your payroll provider or accountant should do the calculation for a real contract.

The minimum wage is a floor for pay only. A directly hired staff member is also entitled to statutory items such as 13th month pay, holiday pay on Philippine public holidays, and employer contributions to social security, health insurance and housing funds.

Why skilled offshore roles pay well above it

The minimum wage tells you very little about what a good offshore hire costs. The people Australian service businesses hire, such as bookkeepers, loan processors, paraplanners, executive assistants and estimators, are skilled professionals. Many have degrees and years of experience with Australian clients and software.

Their market rate reflects that. One example: a remote loan processor role for Australian lenders, working Australian day-shift hours from Manila, was advertised in June 2026 at ₱80,000 to ₱100,000 a month. That is about five to six times the Metro Manila minimum for a five-day week.

Several things push pay up:

• Australian hours. Working an Australian day means starting early in the Philippine morning. People expect to be paid for that.
• Australian systems. Experience with Xero, MYOB, ApplyOnline, Australian lending workflows or Australian payroll and BAS is scarce and valuable.
• Competition for the best people. Strong candidates often have several offers from overseas employers.
• Retention. Paying at the minimum, or even modestly above it, is the fastest way to lose a good hire to the next offer.

The minimum wage still matters as a compliance check. If you hire someone directly, their contract should never fall below the rate for their region. For a real benchmark, use the market rate for the role and seniority. Our Philippines salary guide and role pages give ranges by role.

How to check the current rate

Wage orders change during the year, and many regions phase increases in over several tranches. Before you make an offer:

1. Confirm the region and city where your hire lives and works.
2. Open the NWPC’s summary of the latest wage orders and the order for that region.
3. Check whether a tranche is due during the contract year.
4. Record the wage order number and effective date in your payroll file.

When you have a salary in mind, the offshore staff cost calculator compares one-time and monthly agency fees, and our guide to how to hire Filipino staff from Australia covers the rest of the process.

This page is general information, current at 12 October 2026. It is not legal advice.