The Expanded Maternity Leave is now closer to becoming a law after the Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral report yesterday, October 3, 2018.
This follows the approval of the final version of the bill on Monday, October 1, which consolidated the two versions from the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (House of Representatives).
The Expanded Maternity Leave bill proposes to grant employed women 105 days of paid maternity leave from the current 60 to 78 days, with the option to extend the leave for another 30 days without pay. Of the 105 paid days of leave, seven may be transferred to the father, which will increase the paternity leave to up to 14 days. (Check here if you are eligible to avail the paternity leave.)
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Single mothers are also given 15 additional days of paid maternity leave on top of her solo parent leave credits in the proposed bill.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate committee on women, said, "Now, we not only have a maternity leave policy that is at par with international standards, it also includes modern provisions to adequately respond to the everyday reality confronted by women and our families."
The ratified Expanded Maternity Leave bill will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for signing into law.
The final bicameral version of the expanded maternity leave has not been made available to the public yet, but you may click here to read what we know so far.
What other parents are reading
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