What is basic wage?

Basic wage is defined by the Implementing Rules of RA 6727 as follows: "Basic Wage" means all remuneration or earnings paid by an employer to a worker for services rendered on normal working days and hours but does not include cost of living allowances, 13th-month pay or other monetary benefits which are not considered as part of or integrated into the regular salary of the workers...

The foregoing definition was based on Article 83 of the Labor Code which provides that "the normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day." This means that the basic salary of an employee for the purpose of computing the 13th-month pay shall include all remunerations or earnings paid by an employer for services rendered during normal working hours. (Letran Calamba Faculty and Employees Assn. vs. NLRC, et al., G.R. No. 156225, January 29, 2008)

The provision that a worker is entitled to twice his regular rate if he is required to work on a holiday implies that the provision entitling a worker to his regular rate on holidays applies even if he does not work. (Lilia P. Labadan vs. Forest Hills Academy, et al., G.R. No. 172295, December 23, 2008)