AN ACT EXPANDING THE PROMOTION OF BREASTFEEDING

Case Overview and Summary

Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009

Declaration of Policy (Section 2):
- Adopts rooming-in as national policy to encourage, protect and support breastfeeding.
- Aims to create an environment that fulfills the needs of mothers and infants through rooming-in and breastfeeding.
- Protects working women by providing facilities and opportunities to enable them to combine work and family responsibilities.
- Recognizes the advantages of breastfeeding for infants, mothers, hospitals, and the country.

Definitions (Section 3):
- Defines terms related to breastfeeding, such as age of gestation, bottlefeeding, breastfeeding, breastmilk, breastmilk substitute, donor milk, expressed breastmilk, expressing milk, formula feeding, health institutions, health personnel, health workers, infant, infant formula, lactation management, lactation stations, low birth weight infant, nursing employee, mother's milk, non-health facilities, public place, rooming-in, seriously ill mothers, wet-nursing, workplace, and young child.

Applicability (Section 4):
- Applies to all private enterprises, government agencies, and government-owned and controlled corporations.
- Allows exemption from establishing lactation stations for a renewable period of two (2) years if deemed not feasible or necessary, subject to approval by the Secretary of Labor and Employment (private sector) or the Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (public sector).
- Exempted establishments that opt to comply are entitled to the benefits stated in the law.

Provision of Facilities for Breastmilk Collection and Storage (Section 5, amending Section 10 of RA 7600):
- Health institutions adopting rooming-in and breastfeeding shall provide equipment, facilities, and supplies for breastmilk collection, storage, and utilization, as defined by the Department of Health.
- Encourages health institutions to set up milk banks for storing donated and pasteurized breastmilk, primarily for children in the neonatal intensive care unit whose mothers are seriously ill.

Establishment of Lactation Stations (Section 6, new Section 11):
- Mandates all health and non-health facilities, establishments, or institutions to establish lactation stations with the necessary equipment and facilities, such as a lavatory, refrigeration, electrical outlets, a table, and comfortable seats, as defined by the Department of Health.
- Prohibits the promotion, marketing, or sales of infant formula and breastmilk substitutes within the lactation stations.
- Allows additional suitable facilities or services within the lactation station, which may be eligible for incentives.

Lactation Periods (Section 7, new Section 12):
- Nursing employees shall be granted break intervals, in addition to regular meal breaks, to breastfeed or express milk.
- These intervals, including the time to get to and from the lactation station, shall be counted as compensable hours worked.
- The Department of Labor and Employment may adjust the intervals, but they shall not be less than a total of forty (40) minutes for every eight (8)-hour working period.

Continuing Education, Re-education and Training (Section 8, renumbered Section 13):
- The Department of Health, with assistance from other agencies and organizations, shall conduct continuing information, education, re-education, and training programs for health workers on lactation management.
- Information materials shall be given to all health workers involved in maternal and infant care.

Information Dissemination and Educational Programs (Section 9, renumbered Section 14):
- Health workers shall teach, train, and support pregnant women and mothers on lactation management and infant care during consultations and confinements.
- The Department of Health shall develop breastfeeding programs for working mothers and disseminate relevant information to health centers.
- Employers are encouraged to develop breastfeeding or lactation support programs.

Integration of Breastfeeding Education in Curricula (Section 10, new Section 15):
- The Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority shall integrate the importance, benefits, methods, and techniques of breastfeeding in relevant subjects at elementary, high school, and college levels, especially in medical and education courses.

Breastfeeding Awareness Month (Section 11, new Section 16):
- Declares the month of August in each year as "Breastfeeding Awareness Month" throughout the Philippines.

Public Education and Awareness Program (Section 12, new Section 17):
- Mandates a comprehensive national public education and awareness program to achieve objectives such as promoting breastfeeding, enforcing laws and policies, providing information on benefits and risks, and ensuring access to lactation care and services.
- The Department of Health shall lead the implementation of this program through interagency and multi-sectoral collaboration.

Department of Health Certification (Section 13, new Section 18):
- Establishments satisfying the requirements for lactation stations may apply for a "working mother-baby friendly" certification from the Department of Health.
- The Department of Health shall maintain a list of certified "mother-baby-friendly" establishments.

Incentives (Section 14, renumbered Section 19):
- Expenses incurred by private establishments in complying with the law shall be deductible for income tax purposes up to twice the actual amount incurred.
- Government facilities shall receive additional appropriation equivalent to the savings derived from complying with the law.
- Establishments must secure a "Working Mother-Baby-Friendly Certificate" from the Department of Health to avail of the incentive.

Implementing Agency (Section 15, new Section 20):
- The Department of Health shall be principally responsible for implementing and enforcing the provisions of this law.

Sanctions (Section 16, renumbered Section 21):
- Imposes fines on private non-health facilities for unjustifiably refusing or failing to comply with the lactation station requirements, ranging from Php50,000 to Php1,000,000, and potential cancellation or revocation of business permits or licenses for repeated offenses.
- Empowers the Secretary of Health to impose sanctions on health institutions, such as reprimand, censure, or suspension of permit to operate for repeated willful violations.
- Heads, officials, and employees of government facilities who violate the law shall be subject to administrative penalties, including reprimand, suspension, or dismissal.

Funding (Section 17):
- Government agencies shall use their respective budget for gender and development or budgets for repairs, maintenance, and materials acquisition to comply with the lactation station requirements.

Rules and Regulations (Section 18):
- The Department of Health, as the lead agency, in coordination with other government agencies and organizations, shall issue the necessary rules and regulations within one hundred and twenty (120) days upon the law's effectivity.

Separability Clause (Section 19):
- If any part of the law is declared invalid, the remainder shall remain in force and effect.

Repealing Clause (Section 20):
- All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules, and regulations inconsistent with this law are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

Effectivity Clause (Section 21):
- The law shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.