Here’s some good news for expectant mothers!
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the Expanded Maternity Leave Act that will give working mothers three months of paid leave.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed the news today and said the law was signed by Duterte yesterday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. A copy of the new law has not yet been released.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women who pushed for the passage of the new law, released an informative video today on what the law has in store for working mothers (and fathers!).
The new law requires that all working mothers, both working for the government and in private companies, be given 105 days or three months of paid maternity leaves. Hontiveros added that there will also be an additional 15 days granted to single working mothers, which would total to 120 paid maternity leaves.
The new measure will also give mothers the option to extend their leave for another 30 days without pay, ABS-CBN News reported.
Seven days out of 105 days of the mother’s paid maternity leave are transferable to fathers, which would expand a father’s paid paternity leave to 14 days.
The law is applicable to all kinds of pregnancies. Under the previous law, those who had a normal delivery are only allowed to go on leave for 60 days, while those who had a C-section can be on leave for 78 days.
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