Tokenisms for E. Visayas and other tough-luck, weather-beaten regions

THE orthodox strategy to boost investments and generate jobs in Eastern Visayas and other poorly-performing regional economies is this: Make the wage rate as low as possible.

The tripartite body that sets the regional wage for Eastern Visayas and the like does not deviate from this tortured parameter. After Congress abandoned the mandate of setting a national minimum wage and wage-setting was passed on to the tripartite bodies – and that was so long ago that only God knows when -- that has been the rule.