THE Senate passed on third and final reading a bill granting 120 days of maternity leave for working women and 150 days for solo mothers.
Senate Bill 1305 or the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros, seeks to revise Republic Act (RA) 1161 or the Social Security Act of 1997, which currently grants only a 60-day (for normal childbirth) to 78-day (for caesarean) maternity leave for women workers.
Hontiveros, who is the chairperson of the committee on women, said that the last time the number of maternity leave was increased was 25 years ago or in 1992.
"Amid the current climate of misogyny and sexism, the passage of this important measure in the Senate is a clear triumph of women over antiquated thinking and policies," Hontiveros remarked.
Hontiveros, however, said that the fight is far from over as the measure's counterpart bill in the House of Representatives has yet to be passed. Hontiveros appealed to her congressional colleagues to reciprocate the action of the Senate.
Even men stand to gain from the bill as it allows a mother to transfer to the father of the child up to 30 days of the 120 days of allowed maternity leave for child-care duties, said Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto.
Recto noted that under Section 6 of the bill, a mother entitled to maternity leave benefits may opt to allocate up to 30 days of said leave credits to the father of the child, whether they are married or not.
“This is the best pasa-load app ever invented. And a fair one too, as it does not impose the burden of matrimony,” Recto pointed out, in explaining his vote on the Senate floor.
The “30-day pasa-load leave” is also transferable to alternate caregivers such as “the current partner sharing the same household”, and relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity.
“Any step that lightens the burden for women, and lights the path for the full development of their being, benefits humanity,” he said.
Recto cited studies on how longer maternity leaves result in better school test scores for the child and cut maternal deaths by 13 percent.
“On the macro level, longer maternity leaves do no harm to the economy. On the micro level, longer maternity leaves make both the baby and the mother healthy and happy,” Recto said.
According to Hontiveros the measure would bring the country closer to compliance with the International Labor Organization's standards on maternity protection, a field where the Philippine law is "alarmingly inadequate."
The bill was also co-authored by Senators Sonny Angara, Francis Pangilinan, Loren Legarda, Nancy Binay, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Trillanes IV. (Camille Balagtas/VoxPop Philippines)