Government employees, led by the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage), staged another protest on June 26 in front of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in Manila. They called on the department and the Marcos regime to raise workers’ salaries to a living wage of ₱33,000 per month.

According to the group, the protest is in preparation for the upcoming third year of Marcos Jr in power. It also serves as a follow-up to Malacañang and DBM’s announcement to study and release data on possible salary increases for employees this June.

“With the intense surge in prices of goods and bills, employees and citizens can no longer keep up, which is why we continue to call for prioritizing the increase of monthly wages to a decent and livable level,” Courage stated.

Courage also calls on the government to raise rates and improve the plantilla positions for local government unit (LGU) employees and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs). “COURAGE stands against these schemes that have reduced rates and hindered substantial salary increases for rank-and-file workers in LGUs and GOCCs,” the group added.

The group is also pushing for salary increases for job order and contract-of-service workers. The Marcos regime and DBM should include unions and employee associations in the process of determining salary increases for their ranks, it said.