FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
Second Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.B. No. 28BO 
Introduced by SENATOR MANNY VILLAR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
'11 n -5 P3:27 
Article III Section 14 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution recognizes the State's obligation to 
"protect working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions, taking into account 
their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that will enhance their welfare and 
enable them to realize their full potential in the service of the nation." 
Unfortunately, the current state of the law still contains policies discriminatory against women. 
One such discriminatory policy is the deprivation of maternity leave benefits to unmarried 
pregnant government employees which deprives both the woman and her unborn child of the 
protection they are entitled to. 
There is a need to correct the present legislation concerning the maternity leave benefits of 
unmarried government employees for being discriminatory and for violating the equal protection 
principle under Philippine laws. 
Commonwealth Act 647, otherwise known as "AN ACT TO GRANT MATERNITY LEAVE TO 
MARRIED WOMEN WHO ARE IN THE SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OR ANY OF ITS 
INSTRUMENTALITIES," provides: 
"Section 7. Married women who are permanently or temporarily appointed in 
the service of the Govemment or in any of its branches, subdivisions, agencies 
or instrumentalities, including the corporation and enterprises owned or 
controlled by the Govemment shall in addition to the vacation and sick leave 
which they may enjoy now, be entitled in case of pregnancy to 0 maternity 
leave of sixty days ... " 
Until today, this is still being applied by government offices in implementing Section 12, Rule 
XVI of the Omnibus Rules implementing Book V of Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative 
Code of 1987) and Other Pertinent Civil Service Laws. 
Moreover, the same interpretation is still being applied in the absence of a provision in the GSIS 
Law (R.A. 8291) granting maternity leave benefits to unmarried pregnant women in government. 
Yet in the private sector, unmarried pregnant women enjoy maternity leave benefits. RA 8282 
(SOCial Security System Act) provides for maternity leave of sixty (50) days for normal delivery, 
or seventy-eight (78) days in case of caesarean delivery to all pregnant employees in the private 
sector in law and in practice, no distinctions are made between unmarried and married pregnant 
employees in the private sector in this regard. 
Concerned women's organizations including the U.P. Portia Sorority, Department of Women 
and Development Studies of the U.P. College of Social Work and Community Development, 
COURAGE and GABRIELA maintain that as a matter of right, unmarried pregnant women in 
government service should also enjoy maternity leave benefits as unmarried pregnant women in 
the private sector do. They also stress that the protection of the health of the working woman 
and her unborn child must be given due importance. 


t 
This bill therefore seeks to address the discrimination against unmarried pregnant women in the 
government sector and to remove the discrepancy in the maternity benefits of women in the 
government service vis-a-vis their counterparts in the private sector. 
The urgent passage of this bill is requested. 
M 
ILLAR 


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FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
Second Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.B. No. 2880 
Introduced by SENATOR MANNY VILLAR 
AN ACT 
'11 U-5 P3:26 
GRANTING UNIVERSAL MATERNITY LEAVE BENEFITS TO WOMEN IN GOVERNMENT 
SERVICE 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippine'lfCongress 
assembled: 
Section 1. Maternity Leave Benefit - Any woman employee who is permanently or temporarily 
appointed in government service, or in any of its branches, subdivisions or instrumentalities 
including corporations and enterprises owned or controlled by the Government shall, in case of 
childbirth under normal delivery, abortion or miscarriage, be paid a daily maternity benefit 
equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of her present basic salary, allowances and other 
benefits or the cash equivalent of such benefits for sixty (60) days, provided that the woman 
employee shall be paid daily maternity benefit for seventy-eight (78) days in case of caesarean 
delivery. 
Section 2. Conditions for the availment of Maternity Leave Benefits. - Availment of the 
foregoing maternity benefits shall be subject to the following conditions: 
a) The employee is currently employed in the government and shall have paid at least 
three (3) monthly GSIS contributions in the twelve-month period preceding the semester 
of her childbirth, abortion or miscarriage; 
b) The employee shall have notified her employer of her pregnancy and the probable date 
of her childbirth; 
c) Payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of sickness benefits 
provided under the GSIS Law or policy for the same compensable period of sixty (50) 
days for the same childbirth, abortion, or miscarriage; and 
d) The maternity benefits provided in this Act shall be paid only for the first four (4) 
deliveries including deliveries or availment of maternity benefits under Commonwealth 
Act No. 647 and Republic Act No. 7322. 
Section 3. Obligations of the Employer - The employer shall: 
1) Immediately transmit to the GSIS the notice of pregnancy given by its employee; and 
2) Advance payment of maternity benefits in two (2) equal installments within thirty (30) days 
from filing of the maternity leave application by the employee. 
Section 4. All laws, executive orders, administrative orders, ordinances or issuance inconsistent 
herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
Section 5. This Act shall take effect immediately. 
Approved,