MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 3, 2013) – San Juan City Representative JV Ejercito Estrada on Thursday urged President Benigno Aquino to sign the Domestic Workers’ Act Bill, widely known as the Kasambahay Bill, for the sake of over 2 million household helpers all over the Philippines.
Ejercito Estrada, son of former President Joseph Estrada, said the bill has already been ratified by Congress and is just awaiting Aquino’s signature for the measure to be enacted. So far, Malacanang has not issued any statement to explain the cause of delay.
“I am just wondering what keeps President Aquino from signing the Kasambahay Bill. I am appealing to his sense of compassion. I hope he will realize the importance of the measure to lowly household helpers, some of whom are being maltreated by abusive employers,” Ejercito Estrada said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said household helpers would continue to be subjected to maltreatment and abuse if the measure is not enacted immediately.
Ejercito Estrada, who is also the vice-chairman of the House Committee on Labor, said Aquino has recently approved the Reproductive Health and Sin Tax Acts in time for Christmas, but not the Kasambahay Bill.
“I had hoped that the Kasambahay bill would serve as the government’s Christmas gift to household helpers. As it turned out, the measure was not enacted by the President,” Ejercito Estrada, who is running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance, said.
Under the bill, the minimum salary of a domestic helper is pegged at P2,500 in Metro Manila, P2,000 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities, and P1,500 in the rest of the country.
Apart from monetary compensation, which includes 13th month pay, the measure also mandates employers to enroll their house helpers in Social Security System, Philhealth, and Pag-ibig Fund and to pay part of their monthly contribution.
Also, household helpers should be given at least eight hours rest every day, including a day off once a week.
20