PHL gov’t urged: Make maternity leave law on par with SEAN standards

Women's rights advocacy groups on Thursday urged the Philippine government to raise the country's maternity leave law to a level on a par with South East Asian Nations' standards.

"It is gravely disheartening that even as the Philippines is the Chair and host of the ASEAN this year, our country has long fallen behind our ASEAN neighbors in the area of competent maternity care," read the unity statement of the groups at a forum in Quezon City.

"Sadly, and quite ironic, we are leading this year’s ASEAN but we are lagging behind in terms of paid maternity leave days for our women," the joint statement added.

Also, it said that the country's maternity leave law provides only 60 days of paid leaves, noting that ASEAN member-state Vietnam provides 120 to 180 days, depending on the working conditions and nature of work.

Moreover, it said that Singapore provides 112 days, and that even Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand have surpassed the Philippines with  90 days of paid maternity leave.

Under Convention 183 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), a minimum of 98 days is being prescribed.

^{3D graphs showing how the Philippines lags behind its ASEAN neighbors in terms of paid maternity leave days. —Akbayan photo}

But while the Senate, through the leadership of Senator Risa Hontiveros, has passed the Expanded Maternity Leave Bill providing 120 days and an additional 30 days for solo parents, the House of the Representatives has yet to pass its corresponding measure.

"We urge the House of Representatives under the leadership of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to do its part and pass its version of the bill so that we can make the promise of better maternal care a reality before the year ends," the groups said.

Organizations that participated in Thursday's press conference spearheaded by Akbayan-Women, include: NAGKAISA-Women, Partido Manggagawa (PM), Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Mangagawa (SENTRO) Manggagawang kababaihan Mithi ay Paglaya (MAKALAYA) Alliance of Filipino Workers (AFW), Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) and the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union (PMFTLU) and the Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU).

Next week, the Philippines will be hosting the 31st ASEAN Summit, where over 20 world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are expected to be present. —LBG, GMA News