MANILA – The congressional bicameral conference committee on Monday approved a bill seeking to increase the paid maternity leave period to 105 days for female workers in the government and private sector.
The bicameral panel, under the leadership of Senator Risa Hontiveros and Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy, was able to reconcile the differing provisions of the measure and reach a consensus on the 105-day maternity leave period.
The House version proposes to extend the paid maternity leave period to 100 days, while the Senate version seeks a longer period of 120 days.
The reconciled version seeks an additional 15-day maternity leave for solo parents and an availment of maternity benefits applicable at every instance of pregnancy.
The bill also grants mothers an option to extend for an additional 30 days their maternity leave without pay.
Present laws allow women who had normal delivery to take 60 days of maternity leave; and 78 days if by caesarian section. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
