MANILA – The bicameral conference committee approved on Monday the reconciled Senate and House versions of the bill extending to 105 days the paid maternity leave for female government and private sector workers.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, in an emailed statement, said the measure breezed through the committee.
“The bicameral version of the law provides the following: 105 days of paid maternity leave credits to all working mothers, of which seven days (daddy quota) are transferable to fathers, and an additional 15 days additional to solo mothers, for a total of 120 days,” Hontiveros said.
“The law applies to all instance of pregnancies, removing the four-pregnancy cap,” she added.
In the House’s version, female workers are entitled to only 100 days of paid maternity leave with an option to extend the maternity leave for an additional 30 days without pay.
The reconciled version is set to be submitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives for ratification. The ratified version will then be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for signing.
During the meeting, Rep. Emmi De Jesus (Gabriela) said the Social Security System should be able to cover the additional maternity benefits for female private sector employees without increasing the contributions of workers by 0.3 to 0.4 percent.
“The SSS should not use the expanded maternity leave as justification for a contribution that will further cut the take-home pay of our workers,” she said.
She added: “The state pension fund should address its inefficient collection, failed investments, and foregone revenues from loans instead of depriving mothers of longer maternity leave period.”
Rep. Tom Villarin (Akbayan) lauded the bicameral conference committee’s approval of the measure.
“This paves the way for a historic victory for Filipino women workers as it goes beyond a matter of maternal health or sustaining the country’s wealth for generations to come, but most importantly, it upholds the rights of women in the workplace,” he said. (GMA News)
