Solons bat for approval of Caregivers Welfare Act

Lawmakers are urging their colleagues to finally pass the House bill seeking to set the minimum wage for caregivers in the country.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, chairman of the influential House Committee on Appropriations, noted that the proposed Caregivers Welfare Act was approved on third and final reading during the 16th Congress.

Nograles has filed House Bill 500 with his brother, PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Jonas Nograles.

The brother lawmakers cited the need for Congress to pass a measure that would institutionalize the protection and welfare of caregivers in the practice of their profession to shield them from any forms of abuse and exploitation.

"The availability of professional and responsive care giving must be ensured, especially in the light of the country's aging population, the increase in the number of children born with medical issues, and the emergence of the new illnesses that require supportive care," they said.

"Corollary to this, the important role of caregivers in national development must also be recognized and policies in the practice of the caregiving profession must be instituted to protect caregivers from abuse and exploitation," they added.

For those rendering caregiving services in in the National Capital Region (NCR), the monthly minimum wage shall be 7,000; P5,500 for those in chartered cities and first class municipalities; and P4,000 in other municipalities as proposed under the bill. (Charissa M. Luci)