Jinggoy raps House inaction on ‘Kasambahay’ bill

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada broke inter-parliamentary courtesy as he slammed members of the House of Representatives for their inaction on “kasambahay bill,” the measure prescribing decent employment terms for house helps.

“Insofar as the Senate is concerned, I hope and pray that we pass the bill before the Christmas break. But as far as the House (of

Representatives) is concerned, I think it is sleeping on the job. They (House members) have yet to come up with a counterpart bill. I think someone is trying to block this bill (at the lower house. I have to talk to my counterpart there, the chairman of the committee on labor Rep. Emil Ong,” the senator said.

Estrada, concurrent chairman of the committee on labor, employment and human resource development, underscored the efforts they have made so far at the Senate, passing the bill on second reading recently.

“It’s about time (that we enact this law) because the amount stipulated in our Labor Code is way below the minimum wage. If before it was pegged at P800 (a month), now we’re proposing it, following the amendment of (Majority leader) Sen. (Vicente) Sotto (III), to be at least P2,500,” he said.

Under Committee report No. 7 on the Kasambahay Bill (Senate Bill No. 78) the original proposal on minimum wage rate for the househelpers working in the National Capital Region was at P3,000 a month from the P800 prescribed by the Labor Code.

For those working in first class municipalities, minimum wage will be set at P2,500, and for those in other municipalities P2,000 a month.

“I think that is reasonable enough, including all the benefits and social benefits, days-off etc.,” he added.

An estimated two million household workers stand to benefit from the proposed the enactment of the bill, the senator said.

Based on a study by the Philippine Commission on Women, the population of household workers in the country ranges from 600,000 to 2.5 million. Moreover, Visayan Forum, non-government organization working for the protection and justice of trafficked women and children specifically domestic workers, estimates that one million are children.

It can be recalled that the Senate already passed the Kasambahay Bill during the Thirteenth Congress on 2007.

“The longer we delay this, the longer we are depriving them of decent working condition, benefits and labor rights,” Estrada stated.

Aside from a 13th month pay, kasambahay will also be entitled to membership and benefits in PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and Employees Compensation Commission (ECC).

Further, the bill also mandates the local government units to conduct a registration of employers and household helpers for monitoring and regulation purposes, and to develop and implement gender-responsive programs in support of this legislation.

“The Kasambahay Bill has been languishing in the legislative mill since 1996 when Sen. Francisco Tatad filed a Senate Bill for household helpers during the 10th Congress, as a response to the recommendations of the First National Consultation on Child Domestic Workers in the Philippines,” Estrada said, adding: “It is high time to enact the long overdue Batas Kasambahay in order for the household helpers to have a decent living.” –Angie M. Rosales, Daily Tribune