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Republic of the Philippines RECEIVES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

472

HOUSE BILLNo.__~ “

Introduced by ACT Teachers Party-List
Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO and Rep. FRANCISCA L. CASTRO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to extend a broader maternity protection as assured under
international law pursuant to the relevant Maternity Protection Conventions and
Recommendations such as Convention 183 and Recommendation 191 (both of 2000)
but is denied under Philippine laws, mainly An Act to Grant Maternity Leave to
Married Women Who are in the Service of the Government or of Any of Its
Instrumentalities (Commonwealth Act No. 647) and the Social Security Act (Republic
Act No. 8282).

In the main, this bill carries the principle of granting maternity protection to
all women “without any discrimination whatsoever” (Article 1 of Convention 138),
that is, granting maternity leave with pay to any female employee regardless of her +
civil status, the filiation of her child, her. employment status, and the number of
pregnancies she already had.

Second, this bill endeavors to extend the period of paid maternity leave to 120
days in case of normal delivery and 138 days in case of caesarian delivery from the
current 60 days in case of normal delivery and 78 days in case of caesarian delivery.
If anyone consults international law, these periods per the limitation of the GSIS and
SSS Laws are far shorter than the 98 days (or 14 weeks) as stated by Convention 138
and closer to the 126 days (or 18 weeks) as urged by Recommendation 191. If
anyone consults a woman who had gone through the successive ordeals of
pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing, 60 or even 78 days are not enough to afford any



woman the time to recuperate physically and emotionally and adjust to the duties of
nursing her newborn.

This bill also seeks to institutionalize several rules and regulations from Civil
Service Commission (CSC) issuances which follow the said principle of extending
maternity protection to as many female employees as possible, including those who
return to work prior to the end of the 120 or 138 days, adoptive parents with respect
to their adoptive children, those whose childbirth occurred not more than 15 days
from separation or dismissal from the service, those who have pending
administrative cases, and teachers with proportional vacation pay.

A consolidated version of this bill was approved on Third Reading during the
16" Congress.

For these reasons, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

ag

Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO
ACT Teachers Party-List ACT Teachfrs Party-List



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

472

HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by ACT Teachers Party-List
Rep. ANTONIO L, TINIO and Rep. FRANCISCA L. CASTRO

AN ACT
EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF MATERNITY LEAVE TO ONE HUNDRED TWENTY (120)
DAYS OR ONE HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHT (158) DAYS IN CASE OF CEASARIAN
DELIVERY, MAKING THE SAME AVAILABLE TO ALL WOMEN WORKERS AND
EMPLOYEES IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS WITHOUT ANY
DISCRIMINATION AS TO THE CIVIL STATUS OF THE MOTHER OR THE LEGITIMACY
OF HER CHILD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Grant of maternity leave. — Any covered female employee of the
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) or Social Security Service (SSS) who has
paid at least three monthly contributions in the twelve-month period immediately
preceding the semester of her childbirth, abortion, or miscarriage and who is
currently employed shall be paid a daily maternity benefit equivalent to one hundred
percent (100%) of her present basic salary, allowances, and other benefits, or the
cash equivalents of such benefits for one hundred twenty (120) days, or one hundred *
thirty eight (138) days in case of ceasarian delivery, subject to the following
conditions:

(a) The employee shall notify her employer of the probable date of her
childbirth which notice shall be transmitted to the GSIS or SSS, as the case
may be, in accordance with the rules and regulations it may provide;


(b) The employer shall advance the payment to the employee in two (2) equal
monthly installments: the first fourteen (14) days before the probable
date of childbirth and the second within thirty (30) days after the date of
delivery;

(c) Payment of the benefit under this Act shall be a bar to the recovery of
sickness benefits provided by the rules of the Civil Service Commission and
the Labor Code for the same compensable period of 120 or 138 days for
the same childbirth, abortion, or miscarriage;

(d

The GSIS or SSS shall immediately reimburse the employer of 100% of the
amount of maternity leave benefits advanced to the employee upon
receipt of satisfactory proof of such payment and the legality thereof;

If the employee should give birth or suffer miscarriage or abortion without
the required contributions having been remitted for her to the GSIS or
$85, the GSIS or SSS shall in turn pay such amount to the employee
concerned, and the employer shall pay to the latter damages equivalent to
the benefits which the employee would otherwise have been entitled to;
and

(e)

(f

Maternity leave shall be granted to female employees in every instance of
pregnancy, miscarriage, or abortion irrespective of its frequency.

Enjoyment of maternity leave cannot be deferred but should be availed of
either before or after the actual period of delivery in a continuous and uninterrupted
manner, not exceeding 120 or 138 calendar days, as the case may be.

SECTION 2. Discrimination as to civil status of mother or legitimacy of child
prohibited. — All covered female employees of the GSIS or SSS, regardless of her civil
status or the legitimacy of her child, shall be granted maternity leave with pay upon
compliance with the preceding section.

SECTION 3. Return to work of employee prior to expiration of leave. — When a
female employee wants to report back to duty before the expiration of her maternity
leave, she may be allowed to do so provided she presents a medical certificate that
she is physically fit to assume the duties of her position.

The commuted money value of the unexpired portion of the leave need not
be refunded that when the employee returns to work before the expiration of her
maternity leave, she may receive both the benefits granted under the maternity
leave law and the salary for actual services rendered effective the days she reports
for work.

SECTION 4, Maternity leave with pay of adoptive parents. — A female adoptive
parent, whether married or unmarried, shall, with respect to her adopted child, be
granted maternity leave with pay if the adoptee is below seven (7) years of age as of


the date the child is placed with the adoptive parents thru the Pre-Adoptive
Placement Authority issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

SECTION 5. Maternity leave with pay in case childbirth, miscarriage, or abortion
after termination. - Maternity leave with pay shall be granted even if the childbirth,
miscarriage, or abortion occurs not more than 15 calendar days after the termination
of an employee's service, as her right thereto has already accrued.

SECTION 6. Maternity leave benefits of employees on teachers’ leave basis. — In the
case of those in the teaching profession under the Department of Education,
maternity benefits can be availed of even if the period of delivery occurs during the
long vacation, in which case, both the maternity benefits and the proportional
vacation pay shall be received by the teacher concerned.

SECTION 7. Maternity leave of a female employee with pending administrative
case. — Every woman employee in the government service and in the private sector
shall be entitled to maternity leave with pay even if she has a pending administrative
case.

SECTION 8. Maternity leave of contractual employees. — All contractual female
employees, whether or not receiving the corresponding GSIS or SSS premium, shall
be entitled to maternity leave benefits like regular employees.

SECTION 9. Implementing rules and regulations. — The GSIS, SSS, DSWD,
Department of Labor and Employment, and Civil Service Commission shall issue their
respective rules and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this
Act,

SECTION 10. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared invalid, the
other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. — Section 14-A of Republic Act No. 1161, as amended
by Republic Act No. 8282, or the Social Security Act of 1997, and Section 1 of
Commonwealth Act No. 647, An Act to Grant Maternity Leave to Married Women
Who are in the Service of the Government or of Any of Its Instrumentalities are
hereby repealed.

All administrative issuances executive orders, rules and regulations or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act are repealed, modified, and amended accordingly.

SECTION 12. Effective date. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or one (1) newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,