Bagama’t ipinaglalaban niya ang kapakanan ng kababaihan, nababahala naman si dating Senador Panfilo “Ping” Lacson hinggil sa panukala para sa paid menstrual leave dahil maaaring tamaan nito ang maraming negosyo sa bansa at ang trabaho ng mga babaeng empleyado.
Sinabi ni Lacson na malaki ang economic implication ng nasabing panukala dahil posibleng magdulot ito ng tanggalan sa trabaho o kaya ay pagsasara ng mga negosyo o pabrika dahil hindi kakayanin ng mga employer ang dagdag na gastos sa benepisyong ito.
“Instead of benefiting the female workforce in general, it may have a negative effect on the economic and political stability of the country,” ayon sa dating senador.
Kung maisasabatas aniya ang dalawang araw na menstrual leave kada buwan, aabot ito ng 24 araw na posibleng i-convert sa cash kung hindi magagamit.
“What the proponents of the two-day-a-month menstrual-leave-with-pay measure and the ordinary working woman in this country may not realize is the impact of an additional 24 days a year of leave with pay on top of the 105 days of maternity leave, 7 days of paternity leave, 5 days of sick leave, including the 13-18 days of vacation leave every year (convertible to cash if unused) which could lead to layoffs or even the closing of some factories that may not have the wherewithal to cope with the burden of complying with all these privileges,” paliwanag ni Lacson.
Binanggit ni Lacson na bagaman isinusulong niya ang karapatan ng kababaihan, mayroon namang ibang paraan na puwedeng ibigay sa kanila na hindi magreresulta ng tanggalan sa trabaho.
Bagaman magandang pakinggan ang layunin ng panukala, sinabi ng dating senador na maaaring madismaya rito ang mga investor na nagbabalak sumugal ng long-term investment.
“It is good to be perceived as pro labor, especially among the 49% women population, but we should also take into consideration the long term effect on the country’s investment climate in particular and the economy in general,” ani Lacson.
“We should look at the forest, not the trees,” dugtong pa niya.
