Senator Francis Pangilinan has filed a bill to extend the paternity leave to 30 days, so dads could have more time to help in the care of their newborn and the recovery of their wives.
Republic Act No. 8187, also known as the Paternity Leave Act of 1996, which is currently in effect, only grants a paternity leave of seven days with full pay.
Aside from increasing the number of leave days, Pangilinan's bill also seeks to remove the RA 8187 provision that limits the privilege to the first four deliveries. "The measure’s explanatory note points out 79 countries have enacted laws on paternity leave, with 70 of these granting paid leaves," adds InterAksyon.com.
You can find out how the paternity leave in the Philippines compares to the rest of the world using a map created by TIME. The accompanying report points out that "at least 79 countries’ national laws include paternity leave entitlements, nearly all of which are paid." The map shows that the duration of the paid paternity leaves vary from one day of full pay in Tunisia to 90 days with 80% pay in Iceland.
The one thing that the countries had in common was that their paternity leaves were all significantly shorter than the maternity leaves.ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
