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By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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Thursday, February 2, 2017
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MANILA – Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara believes that a longer maternity leave will ensure proper nutrition for babies.
Citing a 2013 World Health Organization report, Angara said the Philippines has a breastfeeding rate of only 34 percent for infants younger than six months, 16 percent short of the breastfeeding target of the World Health Assembly.
More than 3 million Filipino children aged 5 years and below are stunted, according to the findings of the latest National Nutrition Survey.
“To lengthen maternity benefits is to safeguard our nation’s future. Putting mothers first and providing them utmost care is one of the most binding things in societies across the world,” said Angara, co-sponsor of the Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1305, or the Expanded Maternity Leave Act.
“Any measure that helps break the perennial or the inter-generational cycle of poverty, perhaps the most persistent problems of our country, deserves our full support,” he added.
SBN 1305 aims to extend the number of days of paid maternity leave from 60 days to 120 days.
The proposal allows the transfer of 30 days maternity leave to alternative caregivers like the child’s father, the mother’s common-law partner, and relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity.
“Every mother – every parent for that matter – should be afforded ample time and opportunity to care for their children,” the lawmaker from Aurora said.
Angara said the bill’s passage will lead to “enormous returns” and will have a positive impact on the Philippine economy in long run.
“Doubling the number of paid maternity leave days would definitely incur costs to businesses and to productivity, but its social and familial benefits far outweigh the costs for sure,” he ended./PN
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