I arrived in Manila yesterday and went the BOQ and BOI today.
It was not necessary for my wife to be present, although I did need her passport.
We agreed beforehand that I would send it back to her via DHL, so that she can travel this weekend.
The tricky part turned out to be having a Gcash account accessible while at the BOQ. They do not have Wifi, so this required a working SIM with a data plan. New regulations, however, make it impossible for a foreigner to activate a SIM card without an ACR-I, so I had to get help from someone with both a Gcash account and phone.
I look forward to activating my newly purchased SIM, though, as soon as I get my ACR-I card!
Hope that helps.