President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday announced that the government has increased maternity benefits under the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to help Filipino mothers with the high cost of giving birth.

Under his directive, PhilHealth will expand and increase maternity benefits, effective 30 April. “For a normal hospital delivery, the coverage will increase from P9,750 toP29,000. For a cesarean section, it will rise from P37,000 to P58,000-P62,000,” he said.

He said mothers giving birth may also avail the zero-balance billing if they are admitted to the ward section of a government hospital.

He said the measure aims to ensure that all Filipino mothers giving birth will deliver safely and worry-free, and that they will not have to worry about paying hospital bills.