Statement of Deputy Speaker and Taguig City 2D Representative Pia S. Cayetano
Principal author, House Bill 4113
“I have very good news because the on this day, the Senate and the House met to discuss the disagreeing provisions of our Expanded Maternity Leave Bill. We have come to our final version, which is a 105 Days Expanded Maternity Leave Bill. All that is left to do is to bring this measure back to our respective Chambers for the members to concur with, before sending it to Malacanang for approval.”
“In a nutshell, we now have 105 days of maternity leave, and seven (7) of those days may be given to the father of the baby, since the recommendation under the ILO (International Labor Organization) is at least 98 days. So a mother has the option of giving seven days to her partner.
“In addition, we will have extended maternity leave not just for those in the public sector, or those working in government, but also the private sector, the informal sector (yung mga self-employed din basta nagbabayad kayo ng SSS – SSS will cover a fraction), and then the employers will pay for the difference. Athletes are also covered.
“We also tackled a number of other clarifications to ensure that it’s very clear that a maternity leave can be availed of anytime before giving birth or after. Some people go on leave, let’s say five days, or thirty days before (giving birth), so that would all be covered.
“After so many years, this bill will soon become a law. This was my ‘baby’ ever since I was in the Senate. My team and I wrote the original version (Senate Bill 2982, which was passed by the Senate on third reading in the 16th Congress), that’s why I’m very familiar with the provisions. And so I take the opportunity to thank my team: Those who started in the Senate, and those who are still with me now, for the work that you put in to make this pass. Thank you to those who helped push for the measure, including my colleagues and all the advocates who had been supporting this ever since. I’m so happy with the outcome of this bill.” #
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