Neophyte lawmaker seeks special loans for teachers

MANILA, Philippines — Several bills filed by senators and a neophyte member of the House seek to help public school teachers with low-interest loans, as well as establish protection measures for children, the elderly and the sick.

House Bill 1015, or the Public School Teachers Special Loan Window Act, by Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo aims to entitle more than 600,000 public school teachers to avail themselves of loans or financial assistance at lower interest rates, under the special loan window of government-owned banks.

The lowest-paid public school teachers get around P21,000 a month in basic pay. They receive an additional amount in the form of allowances.

The so-called Eddie Garcia bill, meanwhile, hit a snag as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the measure will need tripartite consultation before enactment into law.

Meanwhile, Sen. Pia Cayetano filed yesterday her second batch of 10 bills, which she said are aimed at achieving Goal 3 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), chiefly seeking to provide one midwife in every barangay; establish specialty centers in government hospitals and medical centers; and the promotion of folic acid food fortification and supplementation.

She also filed measures toward Goal 13 of the SDGs relevant to climate action, by proposing a bill establishing the Department of Disaster Resilience, which will become the country’s primary agency in charge of responding to natural disaster and mitigating its impacts. 

Sen. Bong Revilla filed three bills to ensure the welfare of the elderly, including the proposed Centenarians Act of 2019; lowering the legal age of senior citizens from 60 to 56; and the establishment of elderly care and nursing complexes all over the country. 

Under the Centenarians Act of 2019, the P100,000 incentive for Filipinos who reach the age of 100 shall be divided into three parts: P25,000 upon reaching 80 years old, another P25,000 upon reaching 90 years old and the remaining P50,000 upon reaching 100.

He also wants to amend the scope of the Social Security System so that contributors aged 55 will start being given their monthly pension provided that they have been contributing 120 months prior to retirement.

For health care, Revilla filed the proposed “Family Medical Leave Act” which provides all legitimate employees a maximum of 15 days paid leave to personally look after an immediate family member with a serious medical condition, and the “Comprehensive Renal Replacement Act of 2019” which provides free dialysis for indigent patients.

He also filed the “Magna Carta for Daycare Workers” which aims to protect the rights and ensure the benefits of day care workers.

Revilla also filed the Senate’s equivalent of the “Eddie Garcia Law” or Occupational Health and Safety Standards for actors and workers in the movie and television industry, after the legendary actor’s tragic death during a filming of a TV series.

However, DOLE said yesterday that the bill may still require tripartite consultation before it could be enacted into law.

Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo Benavidez said the usual process in enforcing a new labor law is for the DOLE’s Bureau of Labor Relations to come out with a proposal.

“If support from the sector is needed, the bureau will present it to the Tripartite Executive Commitee and the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC),” Benavidez said.

According to Benavidez, the TIPC will submit a resolution to Congress to fast-track the passage of a proposed measure.