Hous OF REPRESENTATIVES
RECEIVED

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
1 Regular Session

1382
HOUSE BILL NO. OG) BEES IND INCEX SERVICE

Introduced by Congressman Alfredo D. Vargas III

EXPLANATORY NOTE

{As part of the country’s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), the Philippines aims to
reduce child mortality and improve maternal health

According to the St Philippine Progress Report on the MDGs, the Philippines had a high
probability of achieving the target of reducing the mortality rate of children In 2011, the
Philippines recorded a child mortality rate of 30 out of 1,000 live births which is not far from
the 2015 target of 26.7. Moreover, infant mortality rate also decreased from 57 per 1,000 live
births in 1990 to 22 per 1,000 live births in 2011. The 2015 target is 19.

However, it is feared that the Philippines may not have met its MDG target on maternal
health as the maternal mortality ratio increased from 209 deaths per 100,000 live births in
1990 to 221 deaths in 2011, a far cry from the 2015 target of 52

Recent studies show that extending paid maternity leave for new mothers reduces
infant mortality, The cause is yet to be known but it may be linked to longer periods of breast
feeding and better health care. Extended paid maternity leave may also Improve maternal
health as it lessens the likelihood of miscarriage and complications.

Recognizing that maternity is a vital function played solely by women, this bill seeks to
increase the maternity leave of working women from sixty days to 120 days.

To protect the working mothers and their infants’ right to proper health care, the
immediate passage of this measure is earnestly sought.

FREDO D. VARGAS IIL


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
15 Regular Session
1382
HOUSE BILL NO. __

Introduced by Congressman Alfredo D. Vargas III

AN ACT
INCREASING THE MATERNITY LEAVE PERIOD TO ONE HUNDRED (100) DAYS FOR
FEMALE EMPLOYEES IN THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE AND IN THE PRIVATE
SECTOR, AND GRANTING AN OPTION TO EXTEND FOR AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY
(30) DAYS WITHOUT PAY

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “One Hundred (100)-Day
Maternity Leave Law”.

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State under Article
XIII, Sec. 14 of the 1987 Constitution to protect and promote the rights and welfare of
working women, taking into account their maternal functions, and to provide an
enabling environment in which their full potential can be achieved.

Towards this end, and in consonance with local and international legal
instruments that protect and promote the rights of women, the State shall
institutionalize a mechanism to expand the maternity leave period of working women to
provide them with ample transition time to regain health and overall wellness as well as
to assume maternal roles before resuming full-time work.

Sec. 3. Maternity Leave for Female Employees in Government Service. - Any
pregnant female employee who is appointed in the government service, regardless of
employment status, in any National Government Agency (NGA), Local Government Unit
(LGU), or Government- Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCC), shall be granted a
maternity leave of one hundred (100) days with full pay based on her average weekly or
regular wages, regardless if the delivery was normal or through caesarian section, or for
sixty (60) days if the female employee suffered a miscarriage

An additional maternity leave of thirty (30) days, without pay, can be availed of,
at the option of the employee: Provided, That the head of the agency shall be given due
notice, in writing, at least forty five (45) days before the end of her regular maternity
leave.


Sec. 4. Maternity Leave for Female Employees in the Private Sector. - Any
pregnant female employee in the private sector shall be granted a maternity leave of
one hundred (100) days, regardless if the delivery was normal or through caesarian
section, or for sixty (60) days if the female employee suffered a miscarriage.

(a) A female employee in the private sector who has paid at least three (3) monthly
contributions in the twelve-month period immediately preceding the semester
of her childbirth or miscarriage shall be paid her daily maternity benefit, which
shall be computed based on the average monthly salary credit, for one hundred
(100) days, regardless if the delivery was normal or through caesarian section,
or for sixty (60) days if the female employee suffered a miscarriage, subject to
the following conditions:

1) That the employee shall have notified her employer of her pregnancy and
the probable date of her childbirth, which notice shall be transmitted to
the Social Security System (SSS) in accordance with the rules and
regulations it may provide;

2) That the full payment shall be advanced by the employer within thirty
(30) days from the filing of the maternity leave application;

3) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of
sickness benefits provided under Republic Act No. 1161, as amended, for
the same period for which daily maternity benefits have been received;

4) That the maternity benefits provided under this Act shall be paid only for
the first four (4) deliveries or miscarriages;

5) That the SSS shall immediately reimburse the employer of one hundred
percent (100%) of the amount of maternity benefits advanced to the
employee by the employer upon receipt of satisfactory proof of such
payment and legality thereof; and

6) That if an employee member should give birth or suffer miscarriage
without the required contributions having been remitted for her by her
employer to the SSS, or without the latter having been previously
notified by the employer of the time of the pregnancy, the employer shall
pay to the SSS damages equivalent to the benefits which said employee
member would otherwise have been entitled to.

(b) An additional maternity leave of thirty (30) days, without pay, can be availed
of, at the option of the employee: Provided, That the employer shall be given
due notice, in writing, at least forty five (45) days before the end of her
regular maternity leave.

(c)_ An employee availing of the maternity leave period and benefits must receive
not less than two-thirds (2/3) of their regular monthly wages. Employers from
the private sector shall be responsible to pay the salary differential between
the actual cash benefits received from the SSS by covered employees and their

3


average weekly or regular wages, for the entire duration of the regular
maternity leave, with the following exceptions, subject to the guidelines to be
issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE):

1) financially-distressed establishments, which are exempted from payment
of minimum wage as defined by the existing guidelines of the DOLE;

2) those retail/service establishments employing not more than ten (10)
workers;

3) those who pay their workers on a purely commission, boundary, or task
basis, and those who are paid a fixed amount for performing a specific
work;

4) those considered as micro business enterprises and engaged in the
production, processing, or manufacturing or products or commodities
including agro-processing, trading, and services whose total assets are not
more than Three Million Pesos (P 3,000,000.00); and

5) those who are already providing similar or more than the benefits
provided under this Act.

Sec. 5. Non-diminution of Benefits. - Nothing in this Act shall be construed as to
diminish existing maternity benefits currently granted by employer with or without
collective bargaining agreements (CBA), or under present laws, if more beneficial to the
female employee. Any other working arrangement which the female employee shall
agree to, during the additional maternity leave period, shall be allowed: Provided, That
this shall be consented to in writing by the employee and shall primarily consider her
maternal functions and post-natal care.

S&C. 6. Security of Tenure, - Those who shall avail of the regular maternity leave
and the additional 30-day maternity leave, whether in the government service or
private sector, shall be assured of security of tenure. As such, the exercise of this option
by them shall not be used as basis for demotion in employment or termination. The
transfer to a parallel position or reassignment from one organizational unit to another
in the same agency shall be allowed: Provided, That it shall not involve a reduction in
rank, status or salary.

Sec. 7. Periodic Review. - The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and
the SSS shall immediately conduct a review of the maternity leave benefits of women
employees in the government service and the private sector, respectively. Thereafter,
they shall include maternity leave benefits in their valuation report conducted every
four (4) years for the $S$ and every three (3) years for the GSIS, or more frequently as
may be necessary, with the end in view of meeting the needs of pregnant women and
improving their welfare by increasing existing maternal benefits.

Sec. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Civil Service Commission
(CSC), the DOLE, together with the GSIS and the SSS shall issue the necessary rules and


regulations for the grant of this expanded maternity leave for all female employees
within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 9. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, a provision or part hereof is
declared invalid, other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and
effect.

Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. - Commonwealth Act No. 647 is hereby repealed.
Section 11, Book V of Executive Order No. 292 (Omnibus Rules on Leaves) and Rule XVI
of the Omnibus Rules Implementing it, Article 133 of Presidential Decree No. 442 or the
Labor Code of the Philippines, and Section 14-A of Republic Act No. 1161, as amended,
are hereby further amended. Any other law, decree, executive order, rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) day after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

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