House bill seeks to provide wages for housewives

A bill has been filed at the House of Representatives seeking to compensate stay-at-home or unemployed mothers for their contribution to society.

Under House Bill 8875 filed by Albay Representative Joey Salceda, women with at least one child under 12 years old and living under poverty line will receive a P2,000 monthly compensation.

These women will receive the compensation until they either graduate from poverty or no longer have children under 12.

In his explanatory note, Salceda said the State "must recognize the work of stay-at-home women, mothers or housewives as valuable economic activity."

"It is time to appreciate their worth and contribution in nation-building," Salceda said. "It is time to make payment for their housework and give them wages for the work they continue to bear out at home."

According to Salceda, as of January 2018, about 67.5 percent of Filipinos who are not part of the labor force were women.

An economist, Salceda said under conventional economics, "work that is not paid for does not count as productive labor" — a principle that his proposal seeks to break.

"What if these stay-at-home mothers or housewives take out their services as child caretakers, as homemakers, cooks, and sometimes even as care providers for the elderly and the sick of the family? Would not husbands be less productive at work, would not their children be underperforming in school or worse, may even be juvenile delinquents and pose a threat to the society?" Salceda asked.

"Clearly, the country's production processes will grind to a halt."

The bill pegs the total annual cost of such assistance program for stay-at-home women from poor families at P35 billion — P32 billion for married women, P3 billion for single mothers, and the rest to widows, divorcees, and other women. —KBK, GMA News