Republic Act 7322

Increasing Maternity Benefits in Favor of Women Workers in the Private Sectors

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Republic Act 7322

AN ACT INCREASING MATERNITY BENEFITS IN FAVOR OF WOMEN WORKERS IN THE
PRIVATE SECTOR, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 14-A OF REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 1161, AS AMENDED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
SECTION 1. Section 14-A of Republic Act No. 1161, as amended, is further amended to read
as follows:
"SEC. 14-A. Maternity Leave Benefit. - A covered female employee who has paid at
least three monthly maternity contributions in the twelve-month period preceding the semester
of her childbirth, abortion or miscarriage and who is currently employed shall be paid a daily
maternity benefit equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of her present basic salary,
allowances and other benefits or the cash equivalent of such benefits for sixty (60) days subject
to the following conditions:
"(a) That the employee shall have notified her employer of her pregnancy and the
probable date of her childbirth which notice shall be transmitted to the SSS in accordance with
the rules and regulations it may provide;
"(b) That the payment shall be advanced by the employer in two equal installments
within thirty (30) days from the filing of the maternity leave application:
"(c) That in case of caesarian delivery, the employee shall be paid the daily
maternity benefit for seventy-eight (78) days;
"(d) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of
sickness benefits provided by this Act for the same compensable period of sixty (60) days for
the same childbirth, abortion, or miscarriage;
"(e) That the maternity benefits provided under this Section shall be paid only for the
first four deliveries after March 13, 1973;
"(f) That the SSS shall immediately reimburse the employer of one hundred percent
(100%) of the amount of maternity benefits advanced to the employee by the employer upon
receipt of satisfactory proof of such payment and legality thereof; and

"(g) That if an employee should give birth or suffer abortion or miscarriage without
the required contributions having been remitted for her by her employer to the SSS, or without
the latter having been previously notified by the employer of the time of the pregnancy, the
employer shall pay to the SSS damages equivalent to the benefits which said employee would
otherwise have been entitled to, and the SSS shall in turn pay such amount to the employee
concerned."
SEC. 2. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as to diminish existing maternity benefits under
present laws and collective bargaining agreements.
SEC. 3. All laws, executive orders, prodamations,.presidential decrees, rules and regulations,
and other issuances, or parts hereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 4. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or
in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.

Republic Act No. 6955

AN ACT TO DECLARE UNLAWFUL THE PRACTICE OF MATCHING FILIPINO WOMEN FOR
MARRIAGE TO FOREIGN NATIONALS ON A MAIL ORDER BASIS AND OTHER SIMILAR
PRACTICES, INCLUDING THE ADVERTISEMENT, PUBLICATION, PRINTING OR
DISTRIBUTION OF BROCHURES, FLIERS AND OTHER PROPAGANDA MATERIALS IN
FURTHERANCE THEREOF AND PROVIDING PENALTY THEREFORE

Section 1. It is the policy of the State to ensure and guarantee the enjoyment of the people of a
decent standard of living. Towards this end, the State shall take measures to protect Filipino
women from being exploited in utter disregard of human dignity in their pursuit of economic
upliftment.
Section 2. Pursuant thereto, it is hereby declared unlawful:
(a)
For a person, natural or juridical, association, club or any other entity to commit, directly
or indirectly, any of the following acts:

(1)
To establish or carry on a business which has for its purpose the matching of Filipino
women for marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail-order basis or through personal
introduction;
(2)
To advertise, publish, print or distribute or cause the advertisement, publication, printing
or distribution of any brochure, flier, or any propaganda material calculated to promote the
prohibited acts in the preceding subparagraph;
(3)
To solicit, enlist or in any manner attract or induce any Filipino woman to become a
member in any club or association whose objective is to match women for marriage to foreign
nationals either on a mail-order basis or through personal introduction for a fee;
(4)
To use the postal service to promote the prohibited acts in subparagraph 1
hereof.1awphi1alf
(b)
For the manager or officer-in-charge or advertising manager of any newspaper,
magazine, television or radio station, or other media, or of an advertising agency, printing
company or other similar entities, to knowingly allow, or consent to, the acts prohibited in the
preceding paragraph.
Section 3. In case of violation of this Act by an association, club, partnership, corporation, or any
other entity, the incumbent officers thereof who have knowingly participated in the violation of
this Act shall be held liable.1awphila1f
Section 4. Any person found guilty by the court to have violated any of the acts herein prohibited
shall suffer an imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day but not more than
eight (8) years, and a fine of not less than Eight thousand pesos (P8,000) but not more than
Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000): Provided, That if the offender is a foreigner, he shall be
immediately deported and barred forever from entering the country after serving his sentence
and payment of fine.
XXX

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7192

An Act Promoting the Integration of Women as Full and Equal
Partners of Men in Development and Nation Building and for Other
Purposes

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. The State recognizes the role of women

in nation building and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of
women and men. The State shall provide women rights and opportunities
equal to that of men.
To attain the foregoing policy:
(1) (1) A substantial portion of official development assistance funds
received from foreign government and multilateral agencies and
organizations shall be set aside and utilized by the agencies concerned to
support programs and activities for women;
(2) (2) All government departments shall ensure that women benefit equally
and participate directly in the development programs and projects of said
department, specifically those funded under official foreign development
assistance, to ensure the full participation and involvement of women in
the development process; and
(3) (3) All government departments and agencies shall review and revise all
their regulations, circulars, issuances and procedures to remove gender
bias therein.
SECTION 3. Responsible Agency. The National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) shall primarily be responsible for ensuring the participation of
women as recipients in foreign aid, grants and loans. It shall
determine and recommend the amount to be allocated for the development
activity involving women.
SECTION 4. Mandate. The NEDA, with the assistance of the National
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, shall ensure that the different
government departments, including its agencies and instrumentalities which,
directly or indirectly, affect the participation of women in national development
and their integration therein:
(1) (1) Formulate and prioritize rural or countryside development programs
or projects, provide income and employment opportunities to women in
the rural areas and thus, prevent their heavy migration from rural to urban
or foreign countries;
(2) (2) Include an assessment of the extent to which their programs and/or
projects integrate women in the development process and of the impact of
said programs or projects on women, including their implications in
enhancing the self-reliance of women in improving their income;
(3) (3) Ensure the active participation of women and women's organizations
in the development programs and/or projects including their involvement
in the planning, design, implementation, management, monitoring and
evaluation thereof;

(4) (4) Collect sex-disaggregated data and include such data in its
program/project paper, proposal or strategy;
(5) (5) Ensure that programs and/or projects are designed so that the
percentage of women who receive assistance is approximately
proportionate to either their traditional participation in the targeted
activities or their proportion of the population, whichever is higher.
Otherwise, the following should be stated in the program/project paper,
proposal or strategy:
(a) (a) The obstacles in achieving the goal;
(b) (b) The steps being taken to overcome those obstacles; and
(c) (c) To the extent that steps are not being taken to overcome those
obstacles, why they are not being taken.
(6) (6) Assist women in activities that are of critical significance to their
self-reliance and development.
SECTION 5. Equality in Capacity to Act. Women of legal age,
regardless of civil status, shall have the capacity to act and enter into contracts
which shall in every respect be equal to that of men under similar
circumstances.
In all contractual situations where married men have the capacity to act,
married women shall have equal rights.
To this end: (1) (1) Women shall have the capacity to borrow and obtain loans and
execute security and credit arrangements under the same conditions as
men;
(2) (2) Women shall have equal access to all government and private sector
programs granting agricultural credit, loans and nonmaterial resources
and shall enjoy equal treatment in agrarian reform and land resettlement
programs;
(3) (3) Women shall have equal rights to act as incorporators and enter into
insurance contracts; and
(4) (4) Married women shall have rights equal to those of married men in
applying for passports, secure visas and other travel documents, without
need to secure the consent of their spouses.
In all other similar contractual relations, women shall enjoy equal rights and
shall have the capacity to act which shall in every respect be equal to those of
men under similar circumstances.
SECTION 6. Equal Membership in Clubs. Women shall enjoy equal

access to membership in all social, civic and recreational clubs, committees,

associations and similar other organizations devoted to public purpose. They
shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges accorded to their spouses if
they belong to the same organization.
SECTION 7. Admission to Military Schools. Any provision of the law to
the contrary notwithstanding, consistent with the needs of the services, women
shall be accorded equal opportunities for appointment, admission, training,
graduation and commissioning
SECTION 8. Voluntary Pag-IBIG, GSIS and SSS Coverage. Married
persons who devote full time to managing the household and family affairs
shall, upon the working spouse's consent, be entitled to voluntary Pag-IBIG
(Pagtutulungan Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno), Government Service
Insurance System (GSIS) or Social Security System (SSS) coverage to the
extent of one-half (1/2) of the salary and compensation of the working spouse.
The contributions due thereon shall be deducted from the salary of the working
spouse.
The GSIS or the SSS, as the case may be, shall issue rules and
regulations necessary to effectively implement the provisions of this section.

[REPUBLIC ACT 7877]

AN ACT DECLARING SEXUAL HARASSMENT UNLAWFUL IN THE EMPLOYMENT,
EDUCATION OR TRAINING ENVIRONMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995.
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. The State shall value the dignity of every individual, enhance
the development of its human resources, guarantee full respect for human rights, and uphold the
dignity of workers, employees, applicants for employment, students or those undergoing
training, instruction or education. Towards this end, all forms of sexual harassment in the
employment, education or training environment are hereby declared unlawful.
SEC. 3. Work, Education or Training-related Sexual Harassment Defined. Work, education or
training-related sexual harassment is committed by an employer, employee, manager,
supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainor, or any other
person who, having authority, influence or moral ascendancy over another in a work or training
or education environment, demands, requests or otherwise requires any sexual favor from the
other, regardless of whether the demand, request or requirement for submission is accepted by
the object of said Act.

(a) In a work-related or employment environment, sexual harassment is committed when:

(1) The sexual favor is made as a condition in the hiring or in the employment, re-employment or
continued employment of said individual, or in granting said individual favorable compensation,
terms, conditions, promotions, or privileges; or the refusal to grant the sexual favor results in
limiting, segregating or classifying the employee which in any way would discriminate, deprive or
diminish employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect said employee;
(2) The above acts wold impair the employees rights or privileges under existing labor laws; or
(3) The above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the
employee.
(b) In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed:
(1) Against one who is under the care, custody or supervision of the offender;
(2) Against one whose education, training, apprenticeship or tutorship is entrusted to the
offender;
(3) When the sexual favor is made a condition to the giving of a passing grade, or the granting of
honors and scholarships, or the payment of a stipend, allowance or other benefits, privileges, or
considerations; or
(4) When the sexual advances result in an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for the
student, trainee or apprentice.
Any person who directs or induces another to commit any act of sexual harassment as herein
defined, or who cooperates in the commission thereof by another without which it would not
have been committed, shall also be held liable under this Act.
SEC. 4. Duty of the Employer or Head of Office in a Work-related, Education or Training
Environment. It shall be the duty of the employer or the head of the work- related, educational
or training environment or institution, to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual
harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of
sexual harassment. Towards this end, the employer or head of office shall:
(a) Promulgate appropriate rules and regulations in consultation with and jointly approved by the
employees or students or trainees, through their duly designated representatives, prescribing
the procedure for the investigation of sexual harassment cases and the administrative sanctions
therefor.
Administrative sanctions shall not be a bar to prosecution in the proper courts for unlawful acts
of sexual harassment.
The said rules and regulations issued pursuant to this subsection (a) shall include, among
others, guidelines on proper decorum in the workplace and educational or training institutions.
(b) Create a committee on decorum and investigation of cases on sexual harassment. The
committee shall conduct meetings, as the case may be, with officers and employees, teachers,
instructors, professors, coaches, trainors and students or trainees to increase understanding
and prevent incidents of sexual harassment. It shall also conduct the investigation of alleged
cases constituting sexual harassment.

In the case of a work-related environment, the committee shall be composed of at least one (1)
representative each from the management, the union, if any, the employees from the
supervisory rank, and from the rank and file employees.
In the case of the educational or training institution, the committee shall be composed of at least
one (1) representative from the administration, the trainors, teachers, instructors, professors or
coaches and students or trainees, as the case may be.
The employer or head of office, educational or training institution shall disseminate or post a
copy of this Act for the information of all concerned.
SEC. 5. Liability of the Employer, Head of Office, Educational or Training Institution. The
employer or head of office, educational or training institution shall be solidarily liable for
damages arising from the acts of sexual harassment committed in the employment, education or
training environment if the employer or head of office, educational or training institution is
informed of such acts by the offended party and no immediate action is taken thereon.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 10028

AN ACT EXPANDING THE PROMOTION OF BREASTFEEDING, AMENDING FOR THE
PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7600, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "AN ACT PROVIDING
INCENTIVES TO ALL GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE HEALTH INSTITUTIONS WITH
ROOMING-IN AND BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act
of 2009".
Section 2. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State adopts rooming-in as a national policy to encourage,
protect and support the practice of breastfeeding. It shall create an environment where basic
physical, emotional, and psychological needs of mothers and infants are fulfilled through the
practice of rooming-in and breastfeeding.
"The State shall likewise protect working women by providing safe and healthful working
conditions, taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that
will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full potential in the service of the
nation. This is consistent with international treaties and conventions to which the Philippines is a
signatory such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), which emphasizes provision of necessary supporting social services to enable

parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities; the Beijing Platform for Action
and Strategic Objective, which promotes harmonization of work and family responsibilities for
women and men; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes a child's
inherent right to life and the State's obligations to ensure the child's survival and development.
"Breastfeeding has distinct advantages which benefit the infant and the mother, including the
hospital and the country that adopt its practice. It is the first preventive health measure that can
be given to the child at birth. It also enhances mother-infant relationship. Furthermore, the
practice of breastfeeding could save the country valuable foreign exchange that may otherwise
be used for milk importation.
"Breastmilk is the best food since it contains essential nutrients completely suitable for the
infant's needs. It is also nature's first immunization, enabling the infant to fight potential serious
infection. It contains growth factors that enhance the maturation of an infant's organ systems.
"Towards this end, the State shall promote and encourage breastfeeding and provide the
specific measures that would present opportunities for mothers to continue expressing their milk
and/or breastfeeding their infant or young child.
Sec. 4. Applicability. - The provisions in this Chapter shall apply to all private enterprises as well
as government agencies, including their subdivisions and instrumentalities, and governmentowned and -controlled corporations.
Upon application to, and determination by, the Secretary of the Department of Labor and
Employment for the private sector, and the Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission for the
public sector, all health and non-health facilities, establishments and institutions may be
exempted for a renewable period of two (2) years from Section 6 of this Act where the
establishment of lactation stations is not feasible or necessary due to the peculiar circumstances
of the workplace or public place taking into consideration, among others, number of women
employees, physical size of the establishment, and the average number of women who visit.
All health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions which are exempted in
complying with the provisions of this Act but nevertheless opted to comply are entitled to the
benefits herein stated: Provided, That they give their employees the privilege of using the same.

Sec. 10. Provision of Facilities for Breastmilk Collection and Storage for Health Institutions. The health institution adopting rooming-in and breastfeeding shall provide equipment, facilities,
and supplies for breastmilk collection, storage and utilization, the standards of which shall be
defined by the Department of Health. Health institutions are likewise encouraged to set up milk
banks for storage of breastmilk donated by mothers and which have undergone pasteurization.

The stored breastmilk will primarily be given to children in the neonatal intensive care unit whose
own mothers are seriously ill.