Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 10070
___________________________________________________________________
Introduced by Representative Brian Raymund S. Yamsuan
___________________________________________________________________
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The 1987 Constitution guarantees the protection of women in the workforce. Article
XIII, Section 14 mandates “protecting working women by providing safe and healthful work
conditions, taking into account their maternal functions”. The basic law was unequivocal in
this commitment, making no distinction between workers in the formal and informal
economy. This Constitutional directive prompts us to explore equalizing access to statutory
benefits, especially concerning maternity protection for those in the informal economy.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines the informal economy as
referring to “all economic activities by workers and economic units that are – in law or
practice – not covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements”.1 According to the
2019 Labor Force Survey, around 12.7 million individuals were engaged in informal sector
employment in the Philippines.2 This number includes millions of Filipino women who are
freelance workers, own-account workers, and workers in unrecognized or unregulated
employment relationships. As such, more often than not, they are not entitled to any of the
benefits that may be available to its employees, such as vacation or sick leaves, and
insurance programs, including group health insurance or retirement benefits.
Women freelancers, in particular, face heightened vulnerabilities as they do not have
access to the most fundamental protection—maternity benefits. The 2019 Expanded
Maternity Leave Act is a stride towards the right direction, ensuring maternity leave for
mothers in the formal sector. While the law explicitly contemplates workers in the informal
sector3, eligibility is limited to those who are Social Security System members, thereby
excluding a considerable number of Filipino women workers who are not enrolled in the
insurance program. This measure aims to address that gap.
More than alleviating the hardships and worries of working mothers-to-be, the
provision of maternity protection has been linked to a number of positive outcomes for the
mother, for her child, for the economy, and for communities and society at large. Access to
3 Section 10, Republic Act 11210
2 Philippine Statistics Authority, Labor Force Survey (2019)
1 International Labour Office (2002a): Effect to be given to resolutions adopted by the International Labour
Conference at its 90th Session (2002), (b) Resolution concerning decent work and the informal economy;
Governing Body, 285th Session, Seventh item on the agenda; Geneva, November 2002
March 6, 2024
4:25 pm


the benefit increases female participation in productivity, promoting workforce equality and
ultimately, economic growth.
Finally, this measure aligns with the Philippines' international commitments under the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
These human rights treaties provide justification for expanding maternity protection for all
Filipino mothers, irrespective of their employment status.
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this measure is earnestly sought.
BRIAN RAYMUND S. YAMSUAN
Representative
Bicol Saro Party-list


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 10070
___________________________________________________________________
Introduced by Representative Brian Raymund S. Yamsuan
___________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
GRANTING MATERNITY BENEFITS TO WOMEN WORKERS IN THE INFORMAL
ECONOMY, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO 11210,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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 "Equal Maternity
Protection Act of 2024."
SECTION 2. Declaration of policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to protect
the rights and welfare of women workers in the informal economy, to ensure optimal
maternal health consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals, and to encourage and
support the practice of breastfeeding in furtherance of its obligation to ensure the survival
and development of Filipino children.
SECTION 3. Coverage. – This Act shall apply to all workers and economic units,
including enterprises, entrepreneurs and households in the informal economy, in particular:
a) Those in the informal economy who own and operate economic units, including
freelance
workers,
self-employed
workers,
own-account
workers,
employers,
members of cooperatives, and members of other social and solidarity economy units;
b) Home-based workers or contributing family workers, irrespective of whether they
work in economic units in the formal or informal economy;
c)
Employees holding informal jobs in or for formal enterprises, or for economic units in
the informal economy, including those in contract arrangement and/or in supply
chains, or as paid domestic workers employed by households;
d) Workers in unrecognized or unregulated employment relationships;


e) Agricultural workers or fisherfolk in unrecognized or unregulated agricultural or
farming endeavors and fishing activities; and
f)
Non-regular domestic workers.
SECTION 4. Definition of terms. — Whenever used in this Act, the following terms
shall have the respective meanings hereafter set forth:
a) “Informal Economy” refers to all economic activities by workers and economic units
that are, in law or in practice, not covered or insufficiently covered by laws or formal
arrangements.
b) Freelance worker refers to any natural person or entity composed of no more than
one (1) natural person, whether incorporated under the Securities and Exchange
Commission, registered as a sole proprietorship under the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) or registered as self-employed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR), who is hired or retained to provide services, in exchange for compensation, as
an independent contractor to do work according to one's own methods and without
being subjected to the control of the hiring party, except only as to the results of the
work;
c)
“Economic Units in the Informal Economy” refer to units that are owned by individuals
working on their own account either alone or with the help or contributing family
workers; household enterprises engaged in the production of goods and services or
unincorporated enterprises owned by households; cooperatives and other social and
solidarity economy units.
d) “Own-account worker” refers to workers who, working on their own account or with
one or more partners, hold the type of job defined as a self-employed job, and have
not engaged on a continuous basis any employees to work for them during the
reference period.
SECTION 5. Maternity benefit for women workers in the informal economy. —
Section 9 of Republic Act No. 11210 is hereby deleted and replaced with a new Section 11,
which will read as follows:
SECTION 11. MATERNITY BENEFITS FOR FEMALE WORKERS
WHO ARE NON-MEMBERS OF THE SSS — FEMALE WORKERS
WHO ARE NEITHER VOLUNTARY NOR REGULAR MEMBERS OF
THE SSS SHALL RECEIVE, THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT (DSWD), A ONE-TIME
DIRECT
MATERNITY
CASH
BENEFIT
PER
DELIVERY
EQUIVALENT TO THE PREVAILING MINIMUM WAGE RATE IN
THEIR REGION OF RESIDENCE MULTIPLIED BY TWENTY TWO
(22) DAYS.


SECTION 6. Application. –
The Department of Social Welfare and Development
shall determine the requirements and eligibility of beneficiaries. Applicants under this Act
shall prepare all the requirements as determined by the relevant office or division designated
by DSWD and to be submitted to the office authorized by the same
SECTION 7. Appropriations. — The amounts necessary to fund this maternity
benefit shall be taken from revenues from excise taxes on sweetened beverages, alcohol,
tobacco products, heated tobacco products, and vapor products, and may be augmented
under the General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - Should any provision of this Act be declared
unconstitutional, the remaining parts not affected thereby shall remain valid and operational.
SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, circulars, issuances,
rules and regulations and parts thereof which are inconsistent with this act are hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SECTION 10. Effectivity. — This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the
Philippines.
Approved,