NEDA’s P10-K monthly budget remark has basis: DOLE exec

Undersecretary Jacinto Paras believed that the agency will not release such figure if they did not conduct the necessary research to back it up. (Photo: PTV/Twitter)

MANILA — An official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is convinced that the statement made by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), saying a family of five can live decently on a monthly budget of PHP10,000, has been properly studied.

Undersecretary Jacinto Paras believed that the agency will not release such figure if they did not conduct the necessary research to back it up.

“We, at DOLE, have not yet fully studied this analysis by NEDA but I am sure that it was properly deliberated,” he said in a press briefing Wednesday.

On the other hand, Paras added that such findings will be useful to regional wage boards that are currently deliberating on possible wage adjustments.

“All of these components, especially findings by fellow government agencies, will definitely be used as an input with the tripartite wage boards,” he said.

The Labor official, however, explained that wage boards do not just consider the standpoint of one sector, as they will also study the positions of the government, employers, and employees.

“At the end of the day, the wage boards will come up with a decision that is reasonable and balanced,” Paras added.

DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III earlier ordered all regional wage boards to conduct deliberations for a possible increase in salaries of workers amid the rising prices of basic commodities and services.