10-day bereavement leave with pay bill proposed

Pangasinan Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas wants to grant a 10-day bereavement leave with full pay to all employees in the private and public sectors who recently lost a member of their immediate family.

She filed House Bill 6581 seeking to institutionalize the bereavement leave benefit system, believing that the death of an immediate family member bears a significant emotional and psychological burden upon a family member left behind.

"Death in a Filipino family is truly a difficult time for the family members. Grieving on the loss of a family member takes a toll on its members and we all sympathize and feel the anguish of the family, " Agabas said.

She noted that Filipino culture and traditions likewise have different ways of mourning the loss of a family member that were handed down by our ancestors with some holding wakes that usually last several days.

"As a Filipino who can feel the anguish of the grief stricken family, the grant of a ten-day bereavement leave is but the least we can do to help the family recover from the loss of a family member, "Agabas said.

House Bill 6581 or the proposed Bereavement Leave Act of 2017 provides that employees in the private and public sectors shall be entitled to a bereavement leave of 10 days with full pay following the death of an employee's immediate family member.

Under the bill, employees who avail of bereavement leave shall be assured of security of tenure.

"Availment of the leave shall not be used as reason for misconduct, demotion, or termination in employment, or for any form of unsatisfactory performance, " according to the bill.

Violators of the proposed Bereavement Leave Act of 2017 shall pay a fine amounting to R20,000 or face a penalty of imprisonment from 15 days to one month.

The bill tasks the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to issue the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of the proposed Act.