House bill seeks P12,000 annual subsidy for minimum wage families

ELEVEN members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday filed a bill seeking to provide qualified minimum wage families with P12,000 in annual assistance while directing the subsidy toward local micro, small, and medium enterprises.

House Bill No. 10648, or the proposed Pambansang Agapay sa Pamilya at Maliliit na Negosyo (PAMANA) Act, would grant eligible families P1,000 a month through a digital wallet linked to the Philippine Identification System.

The measure was introduced by Reps. Jude Acidre, Ziaur-Rahman Adiong, Joel Chua, Jannette Garin, Jefferson Khonghun, Gerville Luistro, Francisco Paolo Ortega, Terry Ridon, Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, David Suarez, and Ysabel Maria Zamora.

The lawmakers said the proposal seeks to address a gap in the country’s social protection system by extending assistance to minimum wage earners who remain vulnerable to rising living costs but are generally not covered by conditional cash transfer programs.

“Many minimum wage earners report for work every day but still struggle to meet the cost of food, transportation, utilities, medicine, and other basic needs,” Acidre said.

“PAMANA recognizes that having a job does not always mean having economic security. It provides targeted assistance to working families who are not covered by 4Ps but continue to face serious financial pressure,” he added.

Under the bill, eligible families must be headed by a minimum wage earner, registered under PhilSys, and not be current household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or its successor conditional cash transfer program.

The exclusion of 4Ps beneficiaries is intended to prevent duplication and allow the subsidy to reach working households that do not receive comparable income assistance from the government.

The program would cover private-sector employees receiving the statutory minimum wage set by the appropriate Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, as well as public-sector employees whose compensation does not exceed the applicable minimum wage.

Self-employed and informal-sector workers earning at or below the regional minimum wage may also apply through their local social welfare and development offices.

Unlike conventional cash assistance, the subsidy may be used only at accredited local MSMEs, including sari-sari stores, public market stalls, carinderias, neighborhood groceries, pharmacies, and other qualified community enterprises.

Beneficiaries may spend up to P200 a day. Unused funds would remain in their digital wallets and may be used on succeeding days, subject to the same daily limit.

The subsidy may not be withdrawn as cash, transferred to another account, or used for online gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and other goods and services excluded under the program.

Ortega said the local spending requirement would allow the proposal to support household consumption while creating additional demand for local businesses.

“The subsidy is designed to benefit both the family receiving assistance and the small enterprise where it is spent,” Ortega said.

“When a beneficiary buys from a sari-sari store, a market vendor, or a neighborhood food business, the assistance becomes income for a local entrepreneur and continues circulating within the community,” he added.

MSMEs account for 99.5 percent of business establishments in the country and employ the majority of Filipino workers. The lawmakers said directing the subsidy toward local enterprises would allow PAMANA to serve both as a social protection program and as a targeted intervention supporting local economic activity.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development would administer the program in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippine Statistics Authority, and Department of Labor and Employment.

The DSWD would cross-match beneficiary records with the Listahanan and 4Ps databases to verify eligibility and prevent duplicate assistance.

Qualified families would receive PhilSys-linked digital wallets at no cost. Those without smartphones or reliable internet access would be provided alternative payment mechanisms, including QR-enabled cash cards and offline payment solutions.

Chua said the proposed digital system would allow the government to transfer assistance directly to beneficiaries while strengthening oversight and accountability.

“Digital delivery allows the government to identify qualified beneficiaries, transfer assistance directly, and properly account for how public funds are used,” Chua said.

“PhilSys-linked wallets, accredited merchants, spending restrictions, and public reporting are intended to reduce leakage and ensure that the subsidy reaches its intended recipients,” he added.

Based on preliminary estimates cited by the bill’s proponents, the program would require approximately P64 billion to P68 billion annually, equivalent to less than one percent of the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2026.

To support the program over the long term, the bill would establish the PAMANA Trust Fund using identified revenue sources, including portions of incremental value-added tax collections from digital services and national government revenues under the mining fiscal regime.

“At its heart, PAMANA is a recognition that no family should be left behind simply because their income places them just beyond the reach of existing assistance,” Acidre said. “It is a measured investment in the dignity of working families and in the small enterprises that sustain our local communities. Through this measure, we seek to ensure that government support not only eases immediate hardship, but also strengthens the foundations of shared and lasting progress,” he added.