Angara prods House on expanded maternity leave bill

Sen. Sonny Angara on Sunday prodded the House of Representatives to speed up the passage of the expanded maternity leave bill that would double the number of days women could take time off from work after giving birth, from 60 to 120.

The counterpart bill in the House has been pending approval on second reading since January 2017.

The Senate version of the bill proposed that 30 days of the 120 days of maternity leave were transferrable to alternate caregivers, including the child’s father, common-law partner or relatives.

“Every mother — or every parent for that matter — should be afforded ample time and opportunity to care for their children,” Angara said. —DJ Yap