With an intent to afford fathers with the ability to properly raise their children, a lawmaker at the House of Representatives has filed a proposal to further expand benefits for men employed in any type of work.
Through the proposed measure, Akabyan Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno sought to enable fathers to be present during the most critical stage of a child’s development as well as support their wives after giving birth.
In a report from the American Psychological Association (APA), the role of family during the growth of an individual was held to a high regard as it meant that the needs of a child were properly met while also ensuring that someone would be less prone to negative emotions.
Under the bill conveniently labeled as the Paternity and Parental Leave Act, the current paid paternity leave amount of seven days would be extended up to 105 days.
A total of 90 continuous days would be provided for an individual for live childbirth while 60 continuous days is allocated for instances of miscarriages or emergency termination of pregnancy.
Meanwhile, fathers may also avail of an additional 15 days that could be used either in succession or separate occasions for as long as the use of the benefit would be within one year since the birth of the child.
“By investing in shared parenting, this measure advances gender equality, improves child and family wellbeing, and strengthens labor force participation. It affirms that childcare is not solely the responsibility of women, but a shared parental duty that must be actively supported by the State,” Diokno said.
The lawmaker further stated that the proposed measure was meant to align paternal benefits to mothers that were also provided 105 days of leave credits in accordance to the Expanded Maternity Leave Law passed in 2019.
Further expanding its benefits, the measure also covers non-marital fathers as well as caregivers that perform impactful roles in taking care of a child.
To prevent the abuse of such a law, the measure also instills measures against fathers that may file for a paternity leave without actually performing their duties and will subject them to the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.
Likewise, employers that do not grant the provisions and do not apply the necessary benefits that must be afforded to their employees would be subjected to fines and in worst cases face imprisonment and a possible revocation of their business permits.