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WORKING mothers are not the only ones who stand to benefit from a Senate-approved bill expanding maternity leave to 120 days because the proposed law also allows entitled beneficiaries to pass on their leave credits to fathers.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the bill provides that entitled mothers should allocate up to 30 days of their leave credits to the father of the child, regardless if they are married or not.
The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading Senate Bill (SB) 1305 or the Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017 that seeks to grant an additional 60 days of maternity leave to expectant mothers, expanding their leave credits to 120 days.
Section 6 of SB 1305 states, “Any female worker entitled to maternity leave benefits as provided for herein may, at her option, allocate up to 30 days of said benefits to the child’s father, whether or not the same is married to the female worker.”
Recto said giving fathers more time to take care of their wives and children would benefit not only the family but humanity as a whole.
He cited studies on how longer maternity leaves result in better school test scores for the child and cuts maternal deaths by 13 percent.
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