Yamsuan seeks maternity cash benefits for women in informal sector

Bicol Saro Partylist Representative Brian Raymund Yamsuan has proposed the grant of maternity cash benefits to working mothers in the informal economy in the amount equivalent to 22 times the prevailing minimum wage rate in the region where they live.

The maternity cash grant provided under House Bill 10070 filed by Yamsuan is intended to benefit women workers who are not members of the Social Security System (SSS), whether on a regular or voluntary basis.

These include freelancers, the self-employed, home-based workers, those working under the ‘no-work, no-pay’ arrangement, and other unrecognized or unregulated employment activities.

“Working in the informal sector leaves women without any form of social benefits. They have to continue to work while nurturing themselves back to health and providing for their newborn infant and their family because they are deprived of the most fundamental social protection—maternity benefits,” Yamsuan said.

“The eligibility for maternity leave and benefits under our laws is limited to those who are SSS members, thus excluding a considerable number of Filipino women workers who are non-members. This measure aims to address this gap,” added Yamsuan, who filed the bill last week in time for the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8.

Based on independent estimates, over 6.6 million women workers in the informal economy stand to benefit from the measure, which seeks to amend certain provisions of Republic Act 11210 or the “Expanded Maternity Leave Law.”

Under the bill, women workers who are neither voluntary nor regular SSS members “shall receive, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) a one-time direct maternity cash benefit per delivery equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage rate in their region of residence multiplied by 22 days.”

This means that once the bill becomes law, an informal sector worker who lives in Metro Manila where the prevailing minimum wage rate is P610 will receive P13,420 from the DSWD after giving birth.

The DSWD is tasked under the measure to determine the requirements and eligibility of beneficiaries of the maternity cash grant.

Funds to implement the measure “shall be taken from revenues from excise taxes on sweetened beverages, alcohol, tobacco products, and vapor products and may be augmented under the General Appropriations Act.”

“More than alleviating the hardships and worries of working mothers-to-be, the provision of maternity protection has been linked to a number of positive outcomes for the mother, for her child, for the economy, and for communities and society at large,” Yamsuan said.

“Access to the benefit increases female participation in productivity, promoting workforce equality and ultimately, economic growth,” he added.