MANILA -- Three lawmakers at the House of Representatives on Thursday thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for signing the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, as they hailed the enactment of the measure which would give additional leave benefits to working mothers.
The law, which was signed by the President Wednesday, seeks to grant a 105-day paid maternity leave for expectant working mothers in both public and private sectors with an option to extend an additional 30 days without pay.
The law also applies to all instances of pregnancies, removing the four-pregnancy cap under the present law.
“We thank President Duterte for supporting the proposal that would definitely give ample time for mothers to nurture, take care and breastfeed their newborns for the first 100 days,” Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt-Romualdez said.
“This will help alleviate the issue of mothers leaving their babies for work,” she added.
The chair of the House Committee on Accounts said the new law will provide better benefits to ordinary working women, especially those who deliver through caesarian section.
The present law provides 60 days paid maternity leave for normal childbirth and 78 days for caesarian delivery.
“It’s really difficult to recover, especially if the delivery is through caesarian, I can relate to this experience,” said Romualdez, a registered nurse who gave birth to her daughter Maddey on Sept. 1, 2015 through caesarian delivery.
However, Romualdez said the Expanded Maternity Leave Act should not be used as an excuse to discriminate women in the workplace.
“We should remain steadfast in fighting discrimination against women, especially as our Constitution recognizes the role of women in nation-building and promotes equality for them,” Romualdez said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Pia Cayetano hailed the passage of the Expanded Maternity Leave Act as a recognition of the important role that women play in society.
“This measure is an acknowledgement of the dual role of women in society: as members of the work force and as mothers,” she said.
“This maternity leave bill was like a baby that’s been waiting to be born. I’ve been working on this for many years, since I was in the Senate,” the Taguig City lawmaker added.
Cayetano, the principal author and sponsor of expanded maternity bill in the House, also led the passage of the original version of the measure in the Senate back when she chaired the Chamber’s Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality in the 16th Congress.
Besides President Duterte, Cayetano also acknowledged former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, for “heeding and acknowledging the stand of women advocates and relaying this to the President.”
Like Cayetano, Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy also thanked Go, whom the lawmaker described as “our ally in Malacañang” and “a true champion of women’s welfare” for his help in ensuring the passage of the Expanded Maternity Leave Act.
Now that the measure has been finally enacted, the chair of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality urged the government to implement an information campaign so that all female workers, including those in the informal sector, would be informed.
“Sakop ng batas na ito ang lahat ng kababaihan na may employer sa buong bansa. Hindi lang ang mga nasa de-aircon na opisina, kundi pati ang mga tindera sa palengke, sari-sari store, kasambahay, at beauty parlor, basta may employer (The law covers all employed women in the country. Not just those working in air-conditioned offices, but also market vendors, sari-sari store workers, domestic helpers and beauty parlor workers, as long as they have employers),” she said.
“Expanded maternity leave is for all Filipina workers anywhere in our country, and they must be informed that they now have maternity leave lasting up to 105 days,” Herrera-Dy said. (PNA)
