SACMAR-BADIOLA, Ginalyn

Re: Maternity Leave; Query

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RESOLUTION NO. 020576

Ginalyn Sacmar-Badiola, Special Investigator II, Telecommunications Office (TELECOM), Department of

Transportation and Communication (DOTC), requests a ruling from the Commission on whether she can claim the
maternity leave benefits during the period she was on study leave with pay.

Her request reads, thus:

"Said employee filed and was granted study leave with pay from April 1 to September 30,
2001 or for a period of six months. In (sic) June 8, 2001 said employee suffered
miscarriage of her supposed first child, evidenced by Annex `A. Upon her return from said
study leave and within reasonable period of time she filed with the Personnel Section,
evidenced by Annexes `B, `C and `D, the corresponding money value guaranteed under
the Maternity Leave Law.

"Initially, said application was approved by said section, evidenced by Annexes `E, `F and
`G and was forwarded to the Accounting Section for computation. However, on January 18,
2002, the former informed said employee that the maternity benefit cannot be availed as
allegedly advised by the COA Chief assigned in the office. They reasoned out that to allow
recovery/claim would be tantamount to `double compensation.'
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 "Feeling aggrieved and whose right under pertinent laws and rules of the Civil Service Law
are thought to be impaired, said employee now hereby seek (sic) your legal opinion as to
whether or not the undersigned is entitled and thus can claim the benefits under the law on
maternity leave under the foregoing circumstances."

The issue that needs to be resolved is whether an employee can claim maternity leave benefits during the
period of her study leave with pay.

It should be noted that the purpose of maternity leave is to allow the mother to recuperate and to take care of
her child during its infancy stage since it is at this time when the child requires attention. In the case of miscarriage,
although the child is no longer around to be taken care of by the mother, the latter is still entitled to maternity leave
since she does not only need to recuperate but also to recover from the loss of her child.

On the other hand, study leave with pay is granted to an employee to allow him/her to prepare for the bar or
board examinations or to complete his/her masteral degree. This is time off from work not exceeding six (6) months
with pay.1

A reexamination of existing civil service rules and regulations will indicate that there is no applicable provision
that will specifically address the situation that Badiola mentioned. Thus, this is a novel issue that requires looking into
other provisions of the civil service law, rules and regulations.

Section 11 of CSC Memorandum Circular No. 14, s. 1999 provides, thus:

"Sec. 11. Conditions for the grant of maternity leave. - Married women in the
government service who have rendered an aggregate of two (2) or more years of service,
shall in addition to the vacation and sick leave granted them, be entitled to maternity leave
of sixty (60) calendar days with full pay.

"In the case of those in the teaching profession, maternity benefits can be availed of
even if the period of delivery occurs during the long vacation, in which case, both the
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 maternity benefits and the proportional vacation pay shall be received by the teacher
concerned." (Underlining supplied)

The aforequoted provision which clearly applies to the teaching profession indicates that a teacher can claim
both the maternity benefits and her vacation pay when the period of delivery occurs during her long vacation.

However, this provision cannot be used to grant the request of Badiola since her situation is different from
that of the teaching profession. It should be pointed out that the teacher is allowed to receive both her vacation pay
and maternity leave benefits during her vacation since she does not earn leave credits during said period. On the
other hand, a person who is on study leave receives her monthly compensation and allowances and also earn leave
credits for the duration of her study leave. Therefore, equity demands that they should be treated differently.

Moreover, to allow an employee who is on study leave with pay to claim the maternity leave benefits would
amount to double compensation which is not allowed under the 1987 Constitution and the Administrative Code of
1987.

WHEREFORE, the Commission hereby rules that an employee who is on study leave with pay is not entitled
to avail of the maternity leave benefits.

Quezon City, APR 18 2002

(Signed)
JOSE F. ERESTAIN, JR.
Commissioner
(Signed)
KARINA CONSTANTINO-DAVID
Chairman

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 (Signed)
J. WALDEMAR V. VALMORES
Commissioner
Attested by:

(Signed)
ARIEL G. RONQUILLO
Director III

1Section 68 of CSC Memorandum Circular No. 41, s. 1998 (as amended by CSC Memorandum Circular No. 14, s. 1999)

FPG/RTM/X8/Y6(G)/rco
0-02-0025/sacmar2

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