Why the Menstrual Leave Law in the Philippines needs to pass

Five days ago, Rep. Arlene D. Brosas from Gabriela Women’s Party filed House Bill No. 7758. It’s an act that seeks to grant all women a maximum of two fully paid menstrual leaves a month. This proposed law is not new; the late Miriam Defensor Santiago actually also filed something like this in August 2004, with the law requiring a one day leave with 50% pay every month. Just last January of this year, Rep. Ma. Alana Samantha Talino Santos filed for a law that grants women two paid menstrual leaves a month, with 50% renumeration per day.

As a woman, I’m glad that menstrual issues are being addressed in the Philippines. Imagine, women bleed freely for at least three to four days straight every single month until menopause. An average woman spends roughly 2,160 days or 51,840 hours of her life menstruating. That’s almost six years of her life bleeding out of her vagina!

If she’s fortunate, her periods are just mildly uncomfortable with a little nausea, a little cramping - easy to deal with just a hot water bottle. But if she’s like me, severe dysmenorrhea requires being unable to literally get up for at least a day every month. Before I took birth control pills, my dysmenorrhea gets so bad that OTC pain medication doesn’t work anymore. I had to stay in bed because it feels like my uterus is on fire if I so much move a muscle.

Just last month, I had to see my cardiologist because I was getting serious palpitations about a week before my last period. He said that this is likely a complication from my hypertension. I now have new maintenance medication DAILY to help with my palpitations. That’s how serious periods are for me.

All of this is something men never have to think about. They are fully ignorant of the unique trials and tribulations of the female reproductive system and so naturally people like Senator Ping Lacson will only look at it from an economic standpoint. He Tweets, and I quote this in full because it’s actually relevant:

Maternity leave, paternity leave and now, menstrual leave - all with pay. Next time, a legislative measure will be filed mandating menopause and andropause allowances to increase the testosterone levels of workers.

Many employers may not be able to sustain an additional 24 days a year of menstrual leave with pay on top of: a. 105 days of maternity leave;

b. 7 days of paternity leave;

c. 5 days of sick leave and;

d. 13-18 days of vacation leave every year (converted to cash if unused).

It may cause layoffs, shops closing, joblessness leading to economic, political and social instability. Who will gain from these?

He makes an interesting point. I own a small to medium enterprise, and I employ mostly women as well. As much as I wish it and work hard for it, I don’t have the resources nor the revenue of a first world country. Will the government help pay for the menstrual leaves by giving my business a tax break? Of course not. Here in the Philippines, you get near zero support from the government when you need help as an SME. That’s just the reality of it. An extra 24 days a year of paid leaves sounds like almost a month of zero productivity but 100% operation expense. Can a business afford that luxury and break even?

But is it luxury? A woman working while in severe menstrual pain helps absolutely no one. The employer receives substandard work and employee satisfaction is dismal, leading to decreased productivity overall and over time. I mean, why force someone to work when they’re obviously unwell? That’s just cruel and unnecessary.

As an employer, I have never counted sick leaves, vacation leaves, even late days and taken these against my employees’ salaries. I trust my employees to accomplish their tasks from any location, even before the pandemic. I trust them not to lie to me when they say they are unable to work because they are unwell or have something important to take care of. But I can afford to do this because many of our tasks can be accomplished online, or they can wait unless absolutely necessary. What about businesses that require an employees’ physical presence?

Rep. Brosas’s proposed bill actually clearly states that the menstrual leave is non-cumulative and strictly non-convertible to cash. So, if women don’t use it, then it doesn’t add up to 24 days that employers need to make up for. It also states that it allows for a maximum of two days; it can be one day, if that is all the employee needs. It can be zero days, if the employee doesn’t need it at all. So, it really all comes down to how much a business trusts its female employees to tell the truth about why they can’t work. If you don’t support this law, then you don’t trust women when they say their period hurts like hell.

I think this law is necessary because it will help to remove the stigma of missing work because of menstruation. Women can receive the acceptance and support that they need from their employers during that painful time of the month. Honestly, if I never have to deal with menstruation as a woman without messing up my hormones, I’d do it in a heart beat. Do you think I want to bleed every month just so I can take a break and go to the mall and nap and watch Netflix? But I’m a woman and this is my reality. As an employer this is my reality. This law makes room for compassion in the workplace for women. Let’s make it happen.