Solon Calls for Certification of Bill Granting A 14-Day Paid Pandemic Leave

Gabriela Partylist Representative Arlene Brosas urges the government to certify the bill granting a 14-day paid pandemic leave for employees, especially after the recent reimplementation of the enhanced community quarantine in the Greater Manila Area in the Philippines. 

Brosas is one of the authors of House Bill (HB) No. 7909 or the Paid Pandemic Leave Law of 2020. 

She claims that the government should deem the bill urgent as many Filipino employees are still forced to report to work due to the “no work, no pay scheme” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Brosas stated, “[Some workers] are either required to work without hazard pay or be placed on unpaid forced leave or floating status. This is why the government should certify as urgent the Makabayan bloc’s Paid Pandemic Leave Bill to provide social safety nets in place as workers and their families continue to suffer from income losses.”

HB No. 7909 aims to ensure occupational safety and health in workplaces and promote the protection of labor and spillover effects of the pandemic on the economy. The bill also provides fourteen (14) days of paid additional leave to those confirmed, probable, or suspected of contracting COVID-19. 

Additionally, the bill provides a maximum of 60 days paid leave at 80% pay to “floating workers” or those involuntarily out of work but still employed amid the effects of the pandemic on enterprises.

Brosas expressed, “We urge the Lower House to fast-track the approval of this bill as Filipino workers continue to face the violent surge of COVID-19 cases brought by the Duterte administration’s neglect to provide safety measures for the labor force and overall failed pandemic response.”

At present, the bill has been approved by the House Committee on Labor and Employment.