The Department of Health (DOH) thanked President Duterte for the passage of Republic Act 11210, also known as the Expanded Maternity Leave (EML) Act, last February 20.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the signing of the measure is very timely with the observance of Women’s Health Month in March.
“This is another noteworthy addition to the series of legislations that protect, promote, and support the health and nutrition of the Filipino family,” he said.
The signing of the law, Duque said, is good news to the working women and “this is our gift to Filipino mothers all over the country.”
The EML Act complements the recent passage of Republic Act 11148, or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act. With the EML Act, women are given additional economic support by ensuring that their 105 days (with additional 15 days for single mothers) of maternity leaves are paid, regardless of economic and social background.
Healthy women are happy women, thus pregnancy and motherhood should not be reasons why economic opportunities, such as employment, should be taken away from them, the DOH chief said.
The DOH believes that when mothers and their families are allowed to recover physically and mentally from pregnancies and in welcoming newborns as new additions to their lives, they are able to participate in the economy much more effectively as healthy citizens, healthy workers and, more important, as healthy parents.
It has been documented that when the first 1,000 days of life of an infant as well as the mother’s well-being are ensured through proper health and nutrition interventions, far-reaching effects occur on children’s ability to grow and learn, giving them a fighting chance at rising out of poverty.
These interventions include exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of life with breast-feeding continued with nutritious and sustainable complementary feeding until 2 years of age and beyond, compliance to vaccination schedules and micronutrient supplementation, and cognitive stimulation to develop language and motor skills from birth.
EML also empowers men to take time to participate in helping their families thrive with the transferrable seven days from the 105-day leave period.
“Clearly, the government is making strides to make it clear that rearing healthy families involves teamwork among families, communities, and institutions, and that raising Filipino families should be inclusive among men and women,” the health chief said.