r.a. 8282 sec 14SEC. 14. Sickness Benefit.

- (a) A member who has paid at least three (3) monthly contributions in the twelve-month period immediately preceding the semester of sickness or injury and is confined therefor for more than three (3) days in a hospital or elsewhere with the approval of the SSS, shall, for ea ch day of compensable confinement or a fraction thereof, be paid by his employer , or the SSS, if such person is unemployed or self-employed, a daily sickness be nefit equivalent to ninety percent (90%) of his average daily salary credit, sub ject to the following conditions: "(1) In no case shall the daily sickness benefit be paid longer than one hundred twenty (120) days in one (1) calendar year, nor shall any unused portion of the one hundred twenty (120) days of sickness benefit granted under this section be carried forward and added to the total number of compensable days allowable in the subsequent year; "(2) The daily sickness benefit shall not be paid for more than two hundred fort y (240) days on account of the same confinement; and "(3) The employee member shall notify his employer of the fact of his sickness o r injury within five (5) calendar days after the start of his confinement unless such confinement is in a hospital or the employee became sick or was injured wh ile working or within the premises of the employer in which case, notification t o the employer is necessary: Provided, That if the member is unemployed or selfemployed, he shall directly notify the SSS of his confinement within five (5) ca lendar days after the start thereof unless such confinement is in a hospital in which case notification is also not necessary: Provided, further, That in cases where notification is necessary, the confinement shall be deemed to have started not earlier than the fifth day immediately preceding the date of notification. "(b) The compensable confinement shall begin on the first day of sickness, and t he payment of such allowances shall be promptly made by the employer every regul ar payday or on the fifteenth and last day of each month, and similarly in the c ase of direct payment by the SSS, for as long as such allowances are due and pay able: Provided, That such allowance shall begin only after all sick leaves of ab sence with full pay to the credit of the employee member shall have been exhaust ed. "(c) One hundred percent (100%) of the daily benefits provided in the preceding paragraph shall be reimbursed by the SSS to said employer upon receipt of satisf actory proof of such payment and legality thereof: Provided, That the employer h as notified the SSS of the confinement within five (5) calendar days after recei pt of the notification from the employee member: Provided, further, That if the notification to the SSS is made by the employer beyond five (5) calendar days af ter receipt of the notification from the employee member, said employer shall be reimbursed only for each day of confinement starting from the tenth calendar da y immediately preceding the date of notification to the SSS: Provided, finally, That the SSS shall reimburse the employer or pay the unemployed member only for confinement within the one-year period immediately preceding the date the claim for benefit or reimbursement is received by the SSS, except confinement in a hos pital in which case the claim for benefit or reimbursement must be filed within one (1) year from the last day of confinement. "(d) Where the employee member has given the required notification but the emplo yer fails to notify the SSS of the confinement or to file the claim for reimburs ement within the period prescribed in this section resulting in the reduction of the benefit or denial of the claim, such employer shall have no right to recove r the corresponding daily allowance he advanced to the employee member as requir ed in this section. "(e)The claim of reimbursement shall be adjudicated by the SSS within a period o

f two (2) months from receipt thereof: Provided, That should no payment be recei ved by the employer within one (1) month after the period prescribed herein for adjudication, the reimbursement shall thereafter earn simple interest of one per cent (1%) per month until paid. "(f) The provisions regarding the notification required of the member and the em ployer as well as the period within which the claim for benefit or reimbursement may be filed shall apply to all claims filed with the SSS. "SEC. 14-A. Maternity Leave Benefit. - A female member who has paid at least thr ee (3) monthly contributions in the twelve-month period immediately preceding th e semester of her childbirth or miscarriage shall be paid a daily maternity bene fit equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of her average daily salary credit for sixty (60) days or seventy-eight (78) days in case of caesarian delivery, su bject to the following conditions: "(a) That the employee shall have notified her employer of her pregnancy and the probable date of her childbirth, which notice shall be transmitted to the SSS i n accordance with the rules and regulations it may provide; "(b) The full payment shall be advanced by the employer within thirty (30) days from the filing of the maternity leave application; "(c) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of sickness benefits provided by this Act for the same period for which daily mater nity benefits have been received; "(d) That the maternity benefits provided under this section shall be paid only for the first four (4) deliveries or miscarriages; "(e) That the SSS shall immediately reimburse the employer of one hundred percen t (100%) of the amount of maternity benefits advanced to the employee by the emp loyer upon receipt of satisfactory proof of such payment and legality thereof; a nd "(f) That if an employee member should give birth or suffer miscarriage without the required contributions having been remitted for her by her employer to the S SS, or without the latter having been previously notified by the employer of the time of the pregnancy, the employer shall pay to the SSS damages equivalent to the benefits which said employee member would otherwise have been entitled to. (a) "Violence against women and their children" refers to any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or a gainst a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or i llegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitr ary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not limited to, the following ac ts: A. "Physical Violence" refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm; B. "Sexual violence" refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed again st a woman or her child. It includes, but is not limited to: a) rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her chil d as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim's body, forcing her/him to watch obscen e publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indece

nt acts and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live i n the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser; b) acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activi ty by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or ot her harm or coercion; c) Prostituting the woman or child. C. "Psychological violence" refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cau se mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but not limited to intimi dation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation , repeated verbal abuse and mental infidelity. It includes causing or allowing t he victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of the family to which the victim belongs, or to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets or to unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/or visitation of common children. D. "Economic abuse" refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financia lly dependent which includes, but is not limited to the following: 1. withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherei n the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as define d in Article 73 of the Family Code; 2. deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common; 3. destroying household property; 4. controlling the victims' own money or properties or solely controlling the co njugal money or properties. (b) "Battery" refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the woman or her child resulting to the physical and psychological or emotional distress. (c) "Battered Woman Syndrome" refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psyc hological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationshi ps as a result of cumulative abuse. (d) "Stalking" refers to an intentional act committed by a person who, knowingly and without lawful justification follows the woman or her child or places the w oman or her child under surveillance directly or indirectly or a combination the reof. (e) "Dating relationship" refers to a situation wherein the parties live as husb and and wife without the benefit of marriage or are romantically involved over t ime and on a continuing basis during the course of the relationship. A casual ac quaintance or ordinary socialization between two individuals in a business or so cial context is not a dating relationship. (f) "Sexual relations" refers to a single sexual act which may or may not result in the bearing of a common child. (g) "Safe place or shelter" refers to any home or institution maintained or mana ged by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or by any other a gency or voluntary organization accredited by the DSWD for the purposes of this Act or any other suitable place the resident of which is willing temporarily to receive the victim.

(h) "Children" refers to those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are incapable of taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610. As used in this Act, it includes the biological children of the victim and other children under her care.