04/05/2026
Siguro no one two mtlang en ti nestea gin🤪
Everybody wants workers to earn more.
And honestly, they deserve to.
Food is expensive.
Transportation is expensive.
Rent is expensive.
Living in the Philippines today is hard.
But here’s the uncomfortable question:
Can most MSMEs actually survive a ₱1,200 daily minimum wage?
Because if we are serious about helping Filipino workers, then we also need to be serious about protecting Filipino businesses.
Especially the small ones.
Not the giant corporations.
Not the billion-peso companies.
I’m talking about:
-small cafés
-sari-sari stores
-neighborhood restaurants
-local manufacturers
-printing shops
-barber shops
-market vendors
-family-run businesses
The businesses that keep entire communities alive.
These MSMEs are not swimming in profit.
Most are barely surviving month to month.
Many business owners are:
-paying loans
-surviving weak sales
-dealing with rising raw material costs
-paying high rent
-handling expensive utilities
-struggling with taxes and compliance
And now we expect them to suddenly absorb a massive wage increase overnight?
Let’s be honest.
For many MSMEs, this will not mean:
-higher profits
-better productivity
or economic growth
For many, this will mean:
-reducing employees
-shortening work hours
-increasing product prices
-stopping expansion
-going fully family-operated
-or shutting down completely
That’s the reality.
And once MSMEs die, jobs disappear too.
We cannot build a strong economy by crushing the very businesses that create local employment.
The Bigger Problem
The issue is deeper than wages.
The real problem is this:
Why does a Filipino worker need ₱1,200 a day just to survive?
That’s the conversation we should be having.
Why are:
-electricity costs high?
-fuel prices unstable?
-logistics expensive?
-food prices rising?
-taxes heavy?
-permits complicated?
-doing business so difficult in the Philippines?
Because when operating costs go up, businesses raise prices.
Then workers demand higher wages.
Then businesses struggle more.
Then prices rise again.
It becomes a cycle.
And in the middle of all this?
The MSME gets crushed.
What We Actually Need
Instead of sudden wage policies alone, we should be building systems that help BOTH workers and businesses survive.
We need:
-lower electricity costs
-better transportation systems
-local agricultural support
-reduced logistics costs
-easier business registration
-tax relief for MSMEs
-incentives for local manufacturing
-access to affordable financing
-stronger support for Filipino entrepreneurs
Because when businesses grow sustainably:
-salaries improve naturally
-more jobs are created
-prices stabilize
-communities become stronger
This Is Not Anti-Worker
Wanting sustainable wages is not anti-worker.
Protecting MSMEs is also protecting workers.
Because most Filipino workers are employed by small and medium businesses.
If MSMEs collapse:
-unemployment rises
-informal labor grows
-more Filipinos leave the country
-entrepreneurship becomes even harder
And eventually, only giant corporations survive.
That is dangerous for the economy.
The Hard Truth
The Philippines cannot solve poverty through wage increases alone.
We solve poverty by:
-creating strong industries
-supporting local businesses
-improving productivity
-reducing corruption
-fixing infrastructure
-supporting agriculture
-empowering entrepreneurs
-creating real economic opportunities
Real progress is balance.
Workers deserve dignity.
But MSMEs deserve protection too.
Because without MSMEs, many Filipino dreams disappear with them.
-Franz
