MANILA -- The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Thursday said it is not the wage hikes that drive inflation but the high electricity rates in the Philippines, uncontrolled prices of rice, traffic, corruption and the “inane” SRP monitoring, among others.

This after Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez recommended a "minimal" adjustment instead of a wage hike that could push the production cost and and consumer prices upward.

Blaming inflation on wage increases instead of profiteering, weak peso and high global oil prices “speaks very badly of the economic managers,” TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.

“His statement dehumanizes our workers, devalues the worker’s contributions to our GDP growth, and demeans the sacrifices workers are making for ‘Build, Build, Build,’ ” he added.

TUCP vice-president Luis Corral urged President Rodrigo Duterte to lay out his “anti-poverty program” because the economic managers were just using “band-aid solutions.”

Meanwhile, Lopez has said the country needs to have more investments that would generate jobs “so the wages will go up naturally” due to supply and demand.