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Republic of the Philippines ewe” RH
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES * oar

Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
‘Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 8879

Introduced by Representative JOEY SARTE SALCEDA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In January 2018, about 29.5 million or 40.3 percent of the total population 15 years old
and over were not in the labor force. These include housewives, students, persons with
disability, and those who have retired from their employment. About 67.5 percent of those
not in the labor force were women. The principal reason given by (about 58.2% of) women of
working age for being economically inactive, i.e., being outside the labour force, is unpaid
care work, whereas for (54.5% of) their men counterparts, “schooling” is the primary reason
for being outside the labour force

Under conventional economics, work that is not paid for does not count as productive
labor. These include the work of housewives or stay-at-home mothers who take care of their
children, who walk them to school and assist them in their school homework, manage very
limited family budget, do grocery shopping, plan the menu and cook nutritious yet budget
meals, in addition to a lot more miscellaneous chores for their family and their husbands.
Sadly, these works are not considered productive. Our society considers stay-at-home mothers
to be “doing nothing” because they do not go out to work at a paid job like the husbands.
Every work of a housewife can be considered “social reproductive work,” but most could not
see this.

What if these stay-at-home mothers or housewives take out their services as child
caretakers, as homemakers, cooks, and sometimes even as care providers for the elderly and
the sick in the family, would not husbands be less productive at work, would not children be
underperforming in school or worse, may even be juvenile delinquents and pose a threat to
society? Clearly, the country’s production processes will grind to a halt.

The State must therefore recognize the work of stay-at-home women, mothers or
housewives as valuable economic activity. It is time to appreciate their worth and contribution
in nation-building. Yes, it is time to make payment for their housework and give them wages
for the work they continue to bear out at home. The homemaker or housewife deserves at least
‘an amount equivalent of a minimum wage, considering that household work is also a full-time
job. Some studies show that if we quantify the work of stay-at-home women, it approximates
the work of kasambahay, thus housewives also deserve to get paid at least what a kasambahay
earns. However, to avoid distortions in the labor market and because of fiscal constraints, the
State should at the very least provide some social assistance support targeted to stay-at-t
women from poor families who care for at least one child aged 12 or below.



Throughout the last three decades, the State has protected women’s rights and worked
to ensure gender equality with the adoption of several landmark laws that impact on the
welfare of women including Republic Act No. 9710 (otherwise known as the Magna Carta of
Women), Republic Act No. 7192 (or the Women in Development and Nation Building Act),
Republic Act No. 10354 ( also called the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health
Act), Republic Act No. 10361 (also referred to as the Domestic Workers’ Act), among others.
International commitments on the Beijing Platform for Action, the ASEAN Socio Cultural
Community, the Sustainable Development Goals, coupled with the Philippine Development
Plan’s focus on inclusive growth, have broadened discussions on the attainment of gender
equality and social inclusion to include economic empowerment of women, political
participation and leadership of women, as well as violence against women. All these national
and international development aspirations have also prompted the country to account for the
contribution of unremunerated work of women in the economy.

It is for these foregoing premises that the approval of this bill is earnestly sought


Assisting Stay-At-Home Women from Poor Families

1, Since 2006, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has listed the Philippines as the best
performer in gender outcomes' among member states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN). In 2018, the Philippines ranked 8th out of 149 countries assessed for
gender outcomes worldwide (WEF 2018), up from ranking 10th out of 144 countries a year
earlier. The Philippines’ biggest gain in reducing the gender gap was in economic
participation and opportunity, where the country ranked 14th in 2018 from 21st in 2017.
According to the WEF, the Philippines showed progress in wage equality for similar work.
See also other studies (¢.g., Albert and Vizmanos 2017) that discuss varying gender wage
gaps. However, the WEF also suggests that the country remains one of the poorest
performers on labour force participation, ranking 106th in this indicator, unchanged from
2017. This study examines gender gap issues on economic opportunities in the couhtry as
background research for a proposed law that aims to provide social protection assistance
for housewives from poor families with at least one child aged 12 or younger.

Half of working age women while a fifth of men counterparts are outside labour force

2. According to the Labor Force Survey (LFS), conducted by the Philippine Statistics
Authority (LFS), the gender gap in labor force participation has been around 30 percentage
points in favor of men among the working-age population? 15 years and over since 1990,
with about 80% of men being part of the Philippine workforce, compared to only half of
women (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Labor Force Participation Rate by Sex: 1990-2017

2 The WEF gender gap index compares women and men across four pillars: economic participation and
‘opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment.

2 The working-age population aged 15 and over can be divided into three groups, viz, (a) the employed, (b) the
unemployed, and (b) those who are neither. The labor force or economically active population comprises the
‘employed and unemployed. The unemployed consists of working-age persons who are (1) without work, (2)
currently available for work, and (3) seeking work or not seeking work because of the belief that no work is
available, or awaiting results of previous job application, or because of temporary illness or disability, bad
weather or waiting for rehire or job recall. Those who are outside the labor force (i.e, who are neither
‘employed or unemployed) include stay-home spouses, students, persons with disability, retired persons, and
seasonal workers, as well as discouraged workers not actively seeking employment.



i

Labor Force Participation Rate

© 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

PPPPPEPELEESEBEEBEPEE

GE Male MEE Female

Source: Labor Force Suey, Philppne Satis Authony

Most women are outside the labour force due to care work

3. Unpaid care work is the main bottleneck to women’s labor participation. The principal
reason given by (about 58.2% of) women of working age for being economically inactive,
i.e., being outside the labour force is unpaid care work, whereas for (54.5% of) their men
counterparts, “schooling” is the primary reason for being outside the labour force (Figure
2). As of January 2018, an estimated 11.6 million persons, 10.8 million of whom are
women, are not in the labor force due to unpaid care work.

Figure 2. Reasons for Not Joining Labor Market, by Sex: January 2018.


female ~

° 20 40 60 80 100
percent of frequency
TE TirewBelieved no Work Available [REIN Awaiting Results of Previous Job
GREER Temporary liiness/Disabilty ME Bad Weather
HERE Wait tor rehire/Job Recall EEE 100 young/old or Retired/Permane.
WE Household, family duties ‘Schooling
TEE others

‘Source: Labor Force Survey January 2018 round, Philippine Statistics Authority

4. Women, including those educated, still account for most unpaid care work: annual
estimates in the period 2001 to 2017 from the four quarterly rounds of the LFS suggest that
for every 9 women economically inactive due to household/family duties, we find one male
counterpart (Table 1). This pattern has persisted for nearly two decades. Despite the recent
economic gains in the country, opportunities for women and men to participate in the
economy remain unequal.

Table 1. Estimated Number of Economically Inactive Persons Due to Household/Family
Duties (in thousands), by Sex and by Age Group: 2001-2017
08 | 2008 jo | 3007 | 208 | 2005

OT | 200 BY 2 eo oe

307

TOTAL | 7 | Too [wae | omar | aia | wT | wate | Tanae | Tory | waste | Tox | vaso | rors | tows | vasa | Tine

a

=r

Women] TART] Tear | aaa | ane | were | as | woe | oie | Oa] oes | SS | ora ara | 9ST | oe | TOT

Ts

Source: Decent Work Statistics Online (hitp /dews psa gov phi ), PSA

5. As of January 2018, among the 10.8 million economically inactive females aged 15 and
over who are involved in unpaid care work, 5.7 million are in households with at least one
child under 12 years old, The bulk of these women (about 92.7% nationally) are married,
and this pattern is roughly maintained across the region (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Proportion of Women Aged 15 and above who are involved in unpaid care work
(in percent) by civil status across regions: January 2018.



ooo Region JS S20 on

‘Cogayan Vatey PI ou i
Corea! Luzon ae p
CALABARZON FI FO
Bicol =a]
Wister Visayas cn :
Cental Vicayas NEE 2 "a
Easors Vaayes ED a c
Zamboange Peninauta z
Norther Mindanao [ERY n
Davao FI r
SOCCSKSARGEN [EE
Nona Capital Region FN
Cordier Administrative Region IE
sewn SEE 2
crepe [ED 7
MMAROPA FE oH oi
co) 20 40 60 80 100
percent of frequency
HEE singe HEE Varies «= EEE Widowes

[EEE Divorce/Separated [ERE Unknown

Burdens of women from poor households

6. Another survey conducted by the PSA, the National Demographic and Health Survey
(NDHS), confirms that among women of reproductive age (i.e., aged 15 to 49), less than
half are “economically active”. For the NDHS conducted in 1998 up to 2017, the
percentage of women who were employed at the time of the survey has been consistent,
fluctuating between 46% and 48%. Further, results of the NDHS across the years on
women’s nutrition indicators show that women from poor households having less adequate
nutrition than counterparts from wealthy households. Poorer households not only have less
access to safe water, safe sanitation, and hygiene, but also have much less access to water
in the premises where they live (than richer households) (Table 1). The burden of fetching
water outside the premises is clearly given to those responsible for household work, who
can be surmised to be mostly women, as suggested not only from results of the DHS but
also from the LFS.

Table 1. Selected Statist

on Women and Households by Wealth Quintile: 1993-2017

[Percentage of women with a birth in the Wealth quintile Total] Source ]
Par | Lowest ] Second | Middle | Fourth | Highest |
a) received vitamin A dose inthe firsttwo | 379] 444} 459] S01] 533] 456] 2008]
‘months after delivery Dus
8) took no iron tablets or syrup ar] 77] 64] 3a] 61 ¥] 2017 |

| L Dus _|



Percentage of women with a birth ia the Wealth quintile Total Source
paneer Towest | Second | Middle | Fourlh | Highest
as} 71] 38] 36] 39] 76 | 2013
Dus
wo) ay a] eT ¥} 173 | 2008
Dus
took roa tablets oF Syrup Tor <60 days HI] ss} 297] aia | | 279 | 2017
Dus
wr, aT] sad] dea] | 34 P2013
Dus
aia] aaa} a9] S71] aT | a0 [2008
Dus
F iook Won ables or syrup for OW dys] 92] BS] 84] 75] 6a] 82] 2017
DHS
ts] 109] toa] TS | AF] 10s | 2013
Dus
46] 62} 38] Ta 10] 73 | 2008
Dus
3) 100k iron tablets or syrup for 90¥ days sea, a73 soa | 603 | 27] 306] 2017
Dus
3] sea] a3] Sed] — oT] 469 2013
Dis
2] ae] 313] a} 35334 | 2008
DiS
‘ler fom nigh biindness during az] 12] 13] 07] 06] 13 [2008
| pregnancy (adjusted) DHS
) sulfe fiom night blindness during Teh) 4a] 13s T] 46 | 2008
| pregnancy reported) Dus
Percentage of households
‘wing an improved wale source wa| 949; 973] 9B] 996] 95 | OTT
DHS
7] oa] 982] 994] So] BHT | 2013
Dus
TIS] 92} 959} 983] 99S] DTA | 2008
Dis
BI} — 99] 961] 96} — 98S | B97 | 2008
Dus
Soe] 83} 953] 956] 965] Wea | 1998
DHS
ser] Tar} 82] 87a] 95 1993
Dis
with water onthe premises aay a3} a7] 946 | 987] 802 | 2017
Dus
aT} es] S13] a0 | 29] 393 | 2013,
Dus
BI] sed] 7S} 91d | 976) 71a | 2008
Dus
173] aaa] aS] aD] $59] 2003
Dus
Tag] 317] saa] 743] 95S] 351 | 198
Dus
196 aa} 6] 81S] 964] GOD] 1993
DHS
© with improved, non-shared toilet as} G7] Tee] 927] 58a] 757 | 2017
facilities DHS
wa} 39a] —@e] —¥a7 | bas | we | 2013
Dus
Hor] 308] oe] eS] 943) 3B | 2008
Dus
Tes} 86,29] 09] 01] 55] 2003
DHS
Tez} 96} 36] 4] 07] 73] 1998

DHS



Percentage of women with a birth in the ‘Wealth quintile ‘Total | Source
peste teen Towest | Second | Middle | Fourth | Highest

‘@ with soap and water 753; 853| 914] 955) 977 89 | 2017
DHS

‘Source: National Demographic and Health Survey, PSA obtained from STATCOMPILER hitps.//www stateompiler,comlen/

Gender issues in care work

7. Gaps in economic participation between males and females undoubtedly originate in the
gendered representations of the roles of the sexes that persist across cultures and socio-
economic contexts. The “male breadwinner” family model and the women’s caring role in
the family remain very much entrenched across societies. Across Asia, women carry the
burden of unpaid care duties. Results of time use surveys conducted in many Asian
countries indicate that women and girls spend as much as 11 times more of their day than
men and boys on unpaid care and domestic duties, including cooking, cleaning and
collecting water and fuel (ADB and UN Women, 2018). Across four Asian countries, viz.
Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, Mongolia and Pakistan, around 90 per cent of
women perform unpaid care and domestic work, compared to 31 to 75 per cent of men.

8. One of the major barriers to women’s economic empowerment is the disproportionate share
of unpaid care and domestic work they undertake. Apart from limiting participation in the
labour market, unpaid care and domestic work has an impact on the type and quality of
work that women can engage in, and on their wages. The ADB and UN Women (2018)
provide a cross-country analysis across Asia and the Pacific and shows that countries in
which women perform a higher share of unpaid care work also have a higher share of
women in part-time and vulnerable jobs.

9. According to a study of the International Labor Organization (ILO), unpaid care duties are
key in determining whether women enter into and stay in employment and the quality of
jobs they perform (ILO, 2018). The ILO further pointed out that while care work has its
rewards, when done in excess and when involving a lot of uninspiring or menial work, care
responsibilities can hamper the economic opportunities and well-being of unpaid carers and
diminish their general pleasure of human rights. The ILO study further highlights the
phenomenon of “labor force participation penalty” for women with care responsibilities
and the “labor force premium” for men who live with care recipients.

Definitions of care work and unpaid care

10, The ILO (2018) defines care work as activities and relations involved in meeting the
physical, psychological and emotional needs of adults and children, old and young, frail
and able-bodied. Care activities are comprised of two broad kinds, (1) those that consists
of direct, face-to, face personal care activities (sometimes referred to as nurturing or
relational care) including feeding a baby, nursing a sick partner, helping an older person to
take a bath, carrying out health check-ups or teaching young children; and (2) those
involving indirect care activities such as cleaning, cooking, doing the laundry and other
household maintenance tasks or the non-relational care or household work. These activities
cannot be separated from each other and frequently overlap in practice. These are both
manifested in the Philippine context. The people in need of care are typically children


below the age of 15, older persons aged at or above healthy life expectancy, and persons
with severe disabilities.

11. Care work is defined alternatively in a report of Oxfam (2018) as the provision of services
for family and community members outside of the market by meeting the material and/or
developmental and emotional needs of one or more other people through a direct
relationship. Care work is usually unpaid because the person doing it does not receive a
wage or any other form of compensation. Care work is “work” because it “entails
expenditures of time and energy.” It is also called “reproductive work” or “domestic work”
in order to differentiate it from productive or market-based work.

12. Unpaid care work is defined in the ILO (2018) report as caring for persons or undertaking
housework without any explicit monetary compensation. Further, the ILO (2018) points
out that while unpaid care work contributes to economies, and to individual and societal
well-being, unpaid care work also remains mostly invisible, unrecognized and unaccounted
for in decision-making. If unpaid care work were properly valued into national accounts,
itis likely that portraits of GDP would look very different. The ILO estimates that if unpaid
care were to be valued on the basis of an hourly minimum wage, these services would
amount to a total of 9 per cent of global GDP.

Public Policy on Gender and Unpaid Care Work

13. Growing populations, changing demographics, ageing societies, women’s secondary status
in labour markets and deficiencies in social policies require urgent action on unpaid care
work from governments, families and individual citizens. Recognizing, reducing and
redistributing unpaid care and domestic work is undoubtedly essential for inclusive growth
and sustainable development. Throughout the last three decades, the Philippines has had a
dynamic and forceful legislative agenda to protect women’s rights and ensure gender
equality (David et al., 2018). Some of the significant laws that impact on the welfare of
women and girls include the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) also known as Republic Act
(RA) 9710, the Women in Development and Nation Building Act (RA 7192), the
Responsible Parenthood and RH Act (RA 10354), the Domestic Workers’ Act (RA 10361),
and the Anti-Child Pornography Act (RA 9775). In particular, the MCW comprehensively
seeks to enforce women’s rights by adopting measures to foster and promote equal
‘opportunity for women to participate in and contribute to development. The Women in
Development and Nation Building Act institutes measures that would benefit women
equally and allow full participation and involvement of women in the development process;
it mandates all government instrumentalities to review and revise their regulations,
circulars, issuances and procedures to remove gender bias. Thus far, however, no
legislation has been formulated regarding unpaid care and domestic work, particularly the
provision of access to non-contributory social protection.

14, Recognizing, reducing and redistributing women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care
and domestic work will leverage the economic potential of women, and enhance other
development outcomes, including increased time for women to engage in decent work and
economic opportunities, and undertake self-care and leisure activities. The Philippines
adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action broadened the discussions on women’s rights
including violence against women, women’s leadership and political participation and
economic concerns. This also prompted the country to account the contribution of
unremunerated work of women to the economy.


15. Merged data from the Labor Force Survey and the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure
Survey show that as much 4.2 million women in the country are not economically active
due to unpaid care work and are from families with at least one-child aged 12 years old or
below (Table 2). Of these women, 1.5 million are from poor households, another 1.8 million
are from households that are not poor, but still with low income, and about 0.9 million are
from the middle-income class. See Albert ef al. (2018) for a distinction of income groups.
Social protection assistance is particularly important for housewives and stay-at-home
single moms from families whose incomes are not enough to support food and non-food
needs of their family members, and yet are unable to join the labor force due to the
disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work they undertake.

Table 2. Estimated Number of Economically Inactive Women Who Are Not in the Labor
Force due to Unpaid Care Work, and Who Come from Families with at least one-child
aged 12 years old or below (in thousands), by Income Group and by Marital Status: 2015

Income Group Marital Status Total
Single | Married | Widowed | Divorced! | Annuled
Separated
per 1318 | 1,301.2 160 126 09 | 1,462.6
Non- | between Poverty Threshold and
Lt pee ron, 1342] 16212] 242 2 0.0} 1,790.8
with per [between 2 times and 4 times
Capita | Poverty Threshold 419] 6266] 184 136 00) 7004
Income | between 4 times and 10 times Palate nal -) vail, asks
Poverty Thvesbald i} ua 00 00 00 125
between 15 times and 20 times
Poca thenae 00 11 00 00 00 Lt
hhigher than 20 times Poverty
rea oo) 20 00 00 00 20
Total 317.0 | 3,742.8 O18 394 09 | 4,168.0

‘Note: Authors” estimates using merged LFS-2015 FIES data

16, Nearly a century ago government economists in Sweden and the United States estimated
unpaid household work, using a crude methodology of multiplying the number of rural and
urban households by the annual cost of employing a domestic servant, thus suggesting the
cost of unpaid care work as the wage given to domestic helpers (Hawrylyshyn 1976). Prior
to World War II, the national statistic offices of Denmark, Norway and Sweden included
household production in their national income estimates with Norway’s estimates, valuing
the unpaid work of married women on average wage income for unmarried women and
widows in various age groups. This practice were discontinued in 1950 when the United
Nations recommendations on the System of National Accounts were adopted (Aslaksen
and Koren 1996)

17. The public provision of assistance to all unpaid care workers, whether through the
equivalent of minimum wage or even the wage of domestic helpers is likely going to have
the unintended consequence of distorting the job market. Further, such a cost may be well
outside the current and foreseeable public fiscal space

18. In 2015, according to the PSA, the average poverty line was P9,100 per month for a family
of five. The average gap between the poverty line and the monthly income of the families
of these poor women is about P 3,250, with the gap of P4,100 even higher for single mothers

8


(Table 3). Thus, the provision of a cash assistance support of 1,000 per month to these
women corresponding to a third or a fourth of this gap will bring the monthly incomes
closer to the poverty line. The total annual cost of such a social protection assistance
program for stay-at-home women from poor families is 17.6 billion pesos (of which, 15.6
billion will go to married women, 1.6 billion to single mothers, and the rest to widows,
divorcees, etc.).

Table 3. Average Gap Between Poverty Line and Monthly Income of Families of Women
Who Are Economically Inactive due to Unpaid Care Work, and Who Come from Poor
ies with at least one-child aged 12 years old or below (in pesos), by Region and by

Region Marital Status
Single Married | Widowed | Divorced /Separated | Anmulled | Total

Tocos Region. 373672 | 2314.60 | 866.66 2478.16
Cagayan Valley 3165.11 | 2373.70 | 3796.51 2494.17
Central Luzon 3865.53 | 2612.00 31874 2692.07
Bicol Region 3890.29 | 3130.70 | 2190.55 2171.35, 3155.51
‘Western Visayas 3876.66 | 2693.57 | 2924.43 495.43 2760.62,
Central Visayas 3967.17 | 3474.59 3537.24
Eastem Visayas 4503.10 | 3492.90 | 9360.83 4063.60. 3647.09
Zamboanga Peninsula “4289.66 | 2730.75 | 6001.79 275.00 2889.27
‘Northem Mindanao 4670.82 | 3829.93 | 3923.15 1241.59 3880.66
‘Davao Region. 4941.38 [3118.71 | 5221.29 3917.75 3264.54
'SOCCKSARGEN 4081.94 | 3922.92 | 6206.28 4025.40 3952.03,
NCR 2421.85 | 2519.10 | 2702.43 1054.29 2452.19
CAR. 2453.96 | 3392.02 | 6635.10 3353.21
‘ARMM. 4034.00 | 3454.53 [3208.74 2305.94 | _1179.09 |_3517.34
Caraga 3662.97 | 3632.08 | 6035.71 1547.52 3759.13,
‘CALABARZON 2934.20 | 223681 | 303.71 3875.18 | 149436 | 2204.82
MIMAROPA 4302.71 | 2720.73 [3529.20 2904.00
Total 4102.54 | 3166.36 | 3843.08, 2803.12 | _ 1376.78 | _3253.87

Note: Authors” estimates using merged LFS-2015 FIES data

19. In 2015, the Philippines together with 192 other member states of the United Nations
adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, or popularly known as the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs comprise 17 goals and 269 targets for
2030; these Global Goals are more ambitious than its predecessor agenda, the Millennium
Development Goals, as the SDGs seek to achieve sustainable development in its three
dimensions- economic, social and environmental. A stand-alone goal, Goal 5 (gender
equality) has been included in the SDGs. Mainstreaming of gender perspectives has also
been emphasized as both an enabler and accelerator for all the 17 SDGs

20. The valuable contribution of unpaid care work to achieving all the SDGs and to individual
and societal well-being has been manifested by the inclusion of Target 5.4. “Recognize and
value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services,
infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility
within the household and the family as nationally appropriate”. As an enabler, achieving
Target 5.4 will also contribute to the attainment of Goals 3 (health), 4 (education), and 8
(decent work), among others. With the country’s adoption of the SDGs, coupled with
commitments to the ASEAN Socio Cultural Community by 2025, and emphasis of social
inclusion in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, the provision of appropriate
services and policies to recognize, reducing and redistribute unpaid care work becomes
even more imperative.


References

Albert, J.R.G. and Vizmanos, J. F. V. 2017. Do men and women in the Philippines have equal
economic opportunities? PIDS Policy Notes No. 2017-09. Makati City, Philippines: Philippine
Institute for Development Studies. https://pidswebs.pids.gov,ph/CDN/NEWS/pidspn1 709. pdf
(accessed on February 10, 2019).

Albert, J.R.G. Santos, A. G. F. and Vizmanos, J. F. V. 2018. Profile and Determinants of the
Middle-Income Class in the Philippines PIDS Discussion Paper No, 2018-20. Makati City,
Philippines: Philippine Institute for Development Studies
https://pidswebs.pids. gov.ph/CDN/PUBLICA TIONS /pidsdps1820,pdf (accessed on February
10, 2019).

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UN Women. 2018. Gender Equality and the Sustainable
Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific: Baseline and Pathways for Transformative Change
by 2030. Bangkok. _ https://www.adb org/sites/defaulv/files/publicatio/46121 1/gender-
equality-sdes-asia-pacific.pdf (accessed on February 10, 2019).

Aslaksen, I. and Koren, C. 1996. Unpaid household work and the distribution of extended
income: the Norwegian experience. Feminist Economics (3): 65-80.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10, 1080/13545709610001707766 (accessed on
February 18, 2019).

David, C. C., Albert, J.R.G. and Vizmanos, J. F. V. 2018. Sustainable Development Goal 5:
How Does the Philippines Fare on Gender Equality? PIDS Research Paper Series No. 2018-
04. Makati City, Philippines: Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
https://pidswebs. pids. gov. ph/CDN/PUBLICATIONS/pidsrp1 804. pdf (accessed on February
10, 2019).

Hawrylyshyn, O. 1976. The value of household services: a survey of empirical estimates
Review of Income and Wealth 22: 101-131
https://onlinelibrary. wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-4991.1976.tb01146.x (accessed on
February 18, 2019).

International Labor Organization (ILO). 2018. Care Work and Care Jobs for the Future of
Decent Work. https://www.ilo.org/wemspS/groups/public/---dgreports/---deomm/---
publ/documents/publication/wems_633135.pdf (accessed on February 10, 2019).

Oxfam, 2016. Caring about Care Work: The Philippine Experience.

World Economic Forum (WEE). 2018. The global gender gap report. Geneva, Switzerland:
WEF. http://www3,weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2018.pdf (accessed on February 10,
2019).



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE: OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. pez8

Introduced by Representative JOEY SARTE SALCEDA

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR COMPENSATION TO STAY-AT-HOME HOUSEWIVES

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 “Housewives Compensation
Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared a policy of the State to recognize
the work at home of stay-at-home mothers or housewives as valuable economic activity.
Towards this end, stay-at-home mothers or housewives shall receive financial compensation
for all the services rendered on a full-time basis to their children and their families.

SEC. 3. Coverage. This Act shall apply to all housewives whose family’s economic
status falls below the poverty threshold, who work as full-time housewives, and do not have
part-time nor home-based work that is compensated.

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act:

a.) “work at home” refers to services rendered for the children in the family but does
not include home-based work which is compensated or any income generating
activity;

b.) “stay-at-home mothers” refers to women who, regardless of civil status, perform
the work at home of a full-time mother, and do not have past-time nor home-based
work that is compensated or any income generating activity;

c.) “children” refers to those children in the household, whether biological or not, who
are ages 0-12, or who possess the mental ability of a child who is below 12 years
old and cannot take care of themselves.

SEC. 5. Compensation. Financial assistance equivalent to Two Thousand
(Php2,000.00) pesos per moth shalll be given to housewives who are covered under this Act.

The assistance is subject to a review every three (3) years by Congress, in consultation
with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). At the onset of

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implementation, the government will make use of the DSWD National Household Targeting
System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) database to identify the initial set of beneficiaries
After the first year of implementation, the DSWD, in coordination with the local Social Welfare
and Development Office (LSWDO) of each local government unit, will set up mechanisms for
annual updating of the NHTS-PR for determining other qualified beneficiaries under this
Program

SEC. 6. Conditionalities. The financial compensation shall be released by the DSWD,
with the support of the concerned local government units (LGUs), as the case may be, subject
to the following conditions:

a) The child or children is/are enrolled in public schools with at least 85 percent
attendance;

b) The child or children manifest responsible behavior in preparation for eventual
independence from the full-time services of the mothers; and

c) The family (father, mother and children) attends a quarterly barangay assembly
aimed at empowering the family to become responsible members of their locality,
and at reducing the time burden of unpaid care for women living in poverty.

SEC. 7. Implementing Agency. The DSWD, together with the concerned LGUs, shall
implement the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety (90) days from the
approval of this Act, the Secretary of the DSWD, in consultation with the Secretaries of the
Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Education shall
promulgate the necessary rules and regulations, including the targeting and screening of
beneficiaries, for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 9. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this act
is hereby authorized to be appropriated in the concerned DSWD and LGUs in the General
Appropriations Act for the year following its enactment into law and thereafter.

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders and proclamations,
tules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act, are hereby amended or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and
effect.

SEC. 12, Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,