REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__&0

Introduced by HONORABLE RAMON JOLO B. REVILLA III,
HONORABLE LANI MERCADO-REVILLA, and
HONORABLE BRYAN B. REVILLA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to grant eligible employees fifteen (15) days of paid family
and medical leave each year. It may be availed when the employee is suffering
from a serious illness, or when their spouse, parent, or unmarried child requires

care due to a serious health condition.

At present, many Filipino workers are placed in difficult situations where
they must choose between attending to a sick loved one and keeping their
livelihood intact. More often than not, they are compelled to exhaust their sick
and vacation leaves or, in worse cases, take unpaid time off work. Others are
forced to monetize their leave credits just to meet medical expenses, thereby

compromising their long-term financial stability.

In this context, the need for a dedicated family and medical leave benefit
becomes clear. This measure aims to fill a long-standing gap in our labor policy
by providing employees with a reliable form of support during health-related

family emergencies. It introduces a targeted intervention that neither reduces


existing benefits nor allows for accumulation or monetization. The intent is
simple: to ensure that workers can be present for their families without added

economic strain.

This legislative proposal finds strong grounding in our Constitution. It
affirms the sanctity of family life and the duty of the State to protect and
strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. Moreover, it also
recognizes labor as a primary social and economic force, mandating the State to
afford full protection to workers and promote their welfare through humane and

just conditions of work.

By introducing a clearly defined family and medical leave, we recognize
caregiving not just as a private responsibility but as a legitimate labor issue. We
affirm that every worker deserves the space to fulfill their duty to their loved ones

without fear of job loss or diminished income.

This proposal aligns with constitutional mandates to protect labor, uphold
family welfare, and promote social justice. It is a concrete and compassionate
response to a deeply felt need, one that prioritizes the human realities behind our

economic statistics.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly

RAMON Sw REVILLA Ili
LANI ‘CADO-REVILLA Gee B. REVILLA

sought.


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__ £0

Introduced by HONORABLE RAMON JOLO B. REVILLA III,
HONORABLE LANI MERCADO-REVILLA, and
HONORABLE BRYAN B. REVILLA

AN ACT
GRANTING 15 DAYS OF PAID LEAVE A YEAR TO EMPLOYEES
WHOSE SPOUSE, PARENT, UNMARRIED CHILD, OR WHEN THEY
THEMSELVES ARE SUFFERING FROM SERIOUS ILLNESS

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 "Family and
Medical Leave Act of 2025."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to reinforce the
importance of the family as the primary social institution of society. The State

shall support and uphold the health and well-being of the family.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the term:

a. “Eligible employee” means an employee who has been employed— (i) for

at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is


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requested; and (ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer

during the previous 12-month period.

EXCLUSIONS. — The term “eligible employee” does not include any
employee of an employer who is employed at a worksite at which such
employer employs less than 50 employees, if the total number of
employees employed by that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is
less than 50.

._ “Employer” means (i) any person engaged in commerce or in any industry

or activity affecting commerce who employs 50 or more employees for
each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the
current or preceding calendar year; (ii) includes — (I) any person who acts,
directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer to any of the employees

of such employer; and (II) any successor-in-interest of an employer;

. “Employment Benefits” means all benefits provided or made available to

employees by an employer, including life insurance, health insurance, sick
leave, annual leave, educational benefits, and pensions, regardless of
whether such benefits are provided by a practice or written policy of an
employer or through an “employee benefit plan”;

. “Health care provider” means— (i) a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who

is authorized to practice medicine or surgery (as appropriate) by the State
in which the doctor practices; or (ii) any other person determined by the
Secretary to be capable of providing health care services;

. “Parent” means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who

stood in loco parentis to an employee when such employee was a son or

daughter;

. “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Labor and

Employment (DOLE);


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g. “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or
physical or mental condition that involves— (i) inpatient care in a hospital,
health center, lying-in clinic, or residential medical care facility; or (ii)

continuing treatment by a health care provider;

h. “Son or daughter” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild,
a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is — (i)
under 18 years of age; or (ii) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-

care because of a mental or physical disability;
i. “Spouse” means a husband or wife, as the case may be.

Sec. 4, Coverage. — Any employee, regardless of status, may apply for and
shall be granted by the employer a paid family and medical leave of up to fifteen
(15) days when his/her spouse, parent or unmarried child suffers from a serious
illness; Provided, however, That spouses working for the same employer when
availing of the benefits under this Act shall only be granted a combined total of
fifteen (15) days of paid leave. The employee may also apply for the same if
he/she himselffherself is physically unable to perform his job due to serious

illness.

See. 5. Certification. - The leave application shall be accompanied by a
notarized medical certificate duly accomplished by a licensed physician. The
medical certificate must clearly state the nature and extent of the illness, the date
on which the serious health condition commenced, the probable duration of the
condition, and the appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health

care provider regarding the condition.

In any case in which the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the
certification, the employer may require, at the expense of the employer, that the
eligible employee obtain the opinion of a second health care provider designated

or approved by the employer concerning any information certified for such leave.


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The health care provider designated or approved shall not be employed on a

regular basis by the employer.

In any case in which the second opinion differs from the opinion in the
original certification, the employer may require, at the expense of the employer,
that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider designated or
approved jointly by the employer and the employee concerning the information
certified. The opinion of the third health care provider concerning the information
certified shall be considered to be final and shall be binding on the employer and
the employee. The employer may require that the eligible employee obtain

subsequent re-certifications on a reasonable basis.

Sec. 6. The fifteen (15) days leave provided under this Act may be availed
of by the employee in parts but no remainder thereof shall be carried over the
succeeding year: Provided, That no accumulated leave credits under this

provision shall accrue in favor of the employee for every year of service.

Sec. 7. Non-Diminution of Existing Benefits. - The leave benefits
mandated under this Act shall not diminish or affect whatever vested rights and
benefits the employee is already receiving under the law, the collective bargaining
agreement (CBA) or from the employer: Provided, That the employee who is
already receiving a similar unpaid leave benefits under the law or CBA shall only

be entitled to a maximum of fifteen (15) days of paid leave benefits.

Sec. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within thirty (30) days
after the effectivity of this Act, the Department of Labor and Employment shall
issue the necessary implementing rules and regulations for its effective
implementation.

Sec. 9. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared

invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder hereof not otherwise affected shall

remain in full force and effect.


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Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders, letter of instructions, proclamations or administrative regulations that are

inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 11. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,