Parañaque City 2nd Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has highlighted the significance of one of his pet bills in the 20th Congress following President Marcos' his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this week.

In a statement Wednesday, July 30, Yamsuan sought the passage of House Bill (HB) No.2240, or the Equal Maternity Protection Act. It aims to provide maternity cash benefits for women workers in the informal sector.

Specifically, the measure seeks "a one-time direct maternity cash benefit per delivery" to informal sector female workers "equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage rate in their region of residence multiplied by 22 days".

Once the bill becomes law, a female worker in the informal economy who lives in Metro Manila where the prevailing minimum wage rate is P695 will receive P15,290 from the DSWD after giving birth.

Yamsuan’s proposal covers women workers in the informal economy who are not members of the Social Security System (SSS), whether on a regular or voluntary basis. These include freelancers, own-account workers, home-based workers and workers in unrecognized or unregulated employment relationships.

In his SONA last Monday, July 30, President Marcos expressed a renewed commitment to expand opportunities for low-income Filipinos to set up small businesses. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that among the expected beneficiaries of this SONA commitment are women.

“Malaking bahagi ng ating mga informal workers na kasama sa pagpapasigla ng ating ekonomiya ay mga kababaihan at karamihan sa kanila ay walang benefits na natatanggap mula sa gobyerno. Ang ating panukalang batas ay layuning mabago ang ganitong di-patas na pagtrato sa kanila,” Yamsuan said.

(A big chunk of our informal workers who contribute to energizing our economy are women and many of them do not receive any benefits from the government. Our bill aims to change this unfair treatment of them.).

HB No.2240 intends to amend certain provisions of Republic Act (RA) No.11210, or the Expanded Maternity Leave Law in which eligibility is limited only to women who are SSS members and contributors.

Yamsuan said that in his district alone where he has helped provide jobs and livelihood opportunities through his Bigay Negosyo and Dagdag Pangkabuhayan programs, the majority of the beneficiaries were women.

Based on the latest data from Yamsuan’s office, 80 percent of the recipients of the Dagdag Pangkabuhayan program were female. Majority or around 72 percent of the Bigay Negosyo beneficiaries are aspiring women entrepreneurs.

“Working in the informal sector leaves women without any form of social benefits. They do not have health insurance, or vacation and sick leaves. 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.

“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,” he added.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is tasked under the measure to determine the requirements and eligibility of beneficiaries of the maternity cash grant.