House approves Kasambahay Bill

House of Representatives. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ARNOLD ALMACEN

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed on final reading a bill seeking to  guarantee the rights and benefits of household workers in the Philippines.

House Bill 6144, approved on third reading, provides minimum labor standards, including minimum wage setting, regulating working hours, provision of insurance and leave benefits for househelp.

Domestic helpers in Metro Manila will get a minimum salary of P3,000 per month, P2,000 in chartered cities and first class municipalities and P1,000 in other municipalities, says the bill, authored by Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and his son Representative Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo of Camarines Sur’s First District.

They are also entitled to a 13^th month pay and should be covered by the Social Security System and all the benefits provided under Republic Act No. 8282, as amended.

The measure, which also intends to protect domestic workers from abuses, would have been discussed at the plenary Tuesday if not for the conflict caused by Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez’s outburst.

Rufus on Monday lost his cool on Monday in opposing the motion to terminate debates on Reproductive Health Bill, saying that some members were not at the Batasan Complex because the voting was previously scheduled for Tuesday.