MANILA, Philippines -- Employers who encourage breastfeeding at work could get tax incentives for promoting a program that is expected to benefit the health of both mother and child if a bill to that effect becomes a lwaw.

Party list Representative Narciso Santiago III is pushing House Bill 4894 so that mothers tied up with the responsibilities of their jobs would still be able to practice breastfeeding, which has been lauded for boosting the immune system of babies, among other advantages.

This latest push for breastfeeding comes at a time when the Philippines and other countries are reeling from the scare caused by the discovery of melamine-tainted milk from China.

Melamine, an industrial chemical used for producing plastic, has caused kidney problems among babies in China. The controversy has helped breastfeeding advocates in their campaign to inform people of the benefits of mothers' milk.

Under the house bill, corporations and other employers would be given tax-deductible allowances or tax credits for expenses if they set up facilities where mothers could breastfeed their babies or to express and preserve milk for their babies.

The "breastfeeding promotion and support credit" would be equivalent to 50 percent of the employer's expenditures for qualified breastfeeding promotion and support in a taxable year.

These expenditures refer to any amount paid by employers for equipment such as breast pumps to extract milk, and other devices that would assist lactating women.

The employers could also charge to their credit allowance the expenses incurred for consultation services and the lease of properties that are used exclusively by mothers who breastfeed or get milk that they store for later use.

But Santiago said the credit allowable for a taxable year should not exceed P500,000.

In enticing employers to join the breastfeeding campaign, he pointed to the myriad benefits that it provides to both mother and child.

He said studies have shown that mothers who breastfeed reduce their chances of getting breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer, as well as osteoporosis and urinary tract infection.

Babies also get a host of benefits, he added.

"Studies have proven that breastfed babies are healthier than those babies who are not breastfed, and less likely to become ill with gastro-intestinal infections, diarrhea, respiratory, and ear infections, and other serious diseases," he said.