Action star Robin Padilla has expressed support to House Bill No. 4113 that seeks to increase the paid maternity leave to 100 days with pay and an option to extend to an additional 30 days without pay for female workers in the government service and private sector.
“Sa nakikita kong hirap, pagod at puyat ng aking asawa @marieltpadilla I strongly support HB4113 isulong para sa mga kababaihan – Maternity DAD,” said Padilla an Instagram post that showed him feeding his daughter Isabella.
Padilla has tagged actress Toni Gonzaga-Soriano, television host Bianca Gonzales and Senator Manny Pacquiao on his post.
In October 2016, the House of Representatives Committee on Women and Gender Equality approved a bill seeking to increase the maternity leave period to 100 days with pay for government and private sector employees.
The 17th Congress has announced that House Bill 4113, or the proposed “100-Day Maternity Leave Law,” has been endorsed for plenary approval.
“The bill reached second reading in the House and a version of the bill from the Senate was passed and transmitted for concurrence during the 16th Congress,” said committee chair DIWA Rep. Emmeline Y. Aglipay-Villar.
Earlier this month, the Senate approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to increase maternity leave for female employees in the public and private sectors to 100 days regardless of the mode of delivery.
Currently, our laws provide for 60 days of maternity leave for government employees and 60 to 78 days for employees in the private sector, depending on the mode of delivery.
Quoting Villar, Padilla said: “Currently, our laws provide that pregnant women may take a leave of 60 days with pay equivalent to 100 percent of their basic salary, allowances and other benefits, or 78 days for women who undergo caesarian deliveries;”
“This number, however, fails to fully cover even the first 100 days of the life of a child, a period which is critical to breastfeeding, establishing a bond with the baby, and developing a resistance to chronic diseases such as asthma;”
“The Philippines is one of a shrinking minority of nations providing for less than a minimum 14 weeks of statutory maternity leave. Among our neighbors in the ASEAN, only Malaysia has a comparably short period of maternity leave,” Aglipay-Villar explained.
On November 14, 2016, actress-television host Mariel Rodriguez, wife of Padilla, gave birth to daughter in Delaware, USA.
Padilla apologized to Rodriguez for not being by her side. “Babe, I’m sorry wala ako diyan (Babe, I’m sorry that I’m not there).”
Padilla, 47, was not able to file for a US visa on time due to a conviction for possession of illegal firearms in 1994.
The couple got married In India on Aug. 19, 2010.
Rodriguez, 32, had earlier suffered two miscarriages. In May 2016, she announced her pregnancy during an episode of the daily noontime show “It’s Showtime” on ABS-CBN in which she is one of the co-hosts.
The actress decided to deliver their baby in US, of which she is an American citizen.
