REPUBLIC ACT No.

10028

AN ACT EXPANDING THE PROMOTION OF BREASTFEEDING, AMENDING FOR

THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7600, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “AN ACT
PROVIDING INCENTIVES TO ALL GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE HEALTH
INSTITUTIONS WITH ROOMING-IN AND BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in

Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Expanded Breastfeeding
Promotion Act of 2009”.

Section 2. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State adopts rooming-in as a national policy to

encourage, protect and support the practice of breastfeeding. It shall create an
environment where basic physical, emotional, and psychological needs of mothers and
infants are fulfilled through the practice of rooming-in and breastfeeding.

“The State shall likewise protect working women by providing safe and healthful working
conditions, taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and
opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full
potential in the service of the nation. This is consistent with international treaties and
conventions to which the Philippines is a signatory such as the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which emphasizes provision of
necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations
with work responsibilities; the Beijing Platform for Action and Strategic Objective, which
promotes harmonization of work and family responsibilities for women and men; and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes a child’s inherent right to life
and the State’s obligations to ensure the child’s survival and development.

“Breastfeeding has distinct advantages which benefit the infant and the mother,
including the hospital and the country that adopt its practice. It is the first preventive
health measure that can be given to the child at birth. It also enhances mother-infant
relationship. Furthermore, the practice of breastfeeding could save the country valuable
foreign exchange that may otherwise be used for milk importation.

“Breastmilk is the best food since it contains essential nutrients completely suitable for
the infant’s needs. It is also nature’s first immunization, enabling the infant to fight
potential serious infection. It contains growth factors that enhance the maturation of an
infant’s organ systems.

“Towards this end, the State shall promote and encourage breastfeeding and provide
the specific measures that would present opportunities for mothers to continue
expressing their milk and/or breastfeeding their infant or young child.

Section 3. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following definitions are
adopted:

“a) Age of gestation – the length of time the fetus is inside the mother’s womb.

“b) Bottlefeeding – the method of feeding an infant using a bottle with artificial nipples,
the contents of which can be any type of fluid.

“c) Breastfeeding – the method of feeding an infant directly from the human breast.
“d) Breastmilk – the human milk from a mother.

“e) Breastmilk substitute – any food being marketed or otherwise represented as partial
or total replacement of breastmilk whether or not suitable for that purpose.

“f) Donor milk – the human milk from a non-biological mother.

“g) Expressed breastmilk – the human milk which has been extracted from the breast by
hand or by breast pump. It can be fed to an infant using a dropper, a nasogastric tube, a
cup and spoon, or a bottle.

“h) Expressing milk – the act of extracting human milk from the breast by hand or by
pump into a container.

“i) Formula feeding – the feeding of a newborn with infant formula usually by bottle
feeding. It is also called artificial feeding.

“j) Health institutions – are hospitals, health infirmaries, health centers, lying-in centers,
or puericulture centers with obstetrical and pediatric services.

“k) Health personnel – are professionals and workers who manage and/or administer
the entire operations of health institutions and/or who are involved in providing maternal
and child health services.

“l) Health workers – all persons who are engaged in health and health-related work, and
all persons employed in all hospitals, sanitaria, health infirmaries, health centers, rural
health units, barangay health stations, clinics and other health-related establishments,
whether government or private, and shall include medical, allied health professional,
administrative and support personnel employed regardless of their employment status.

“m) Infant – a child within zero (0) to twelve (12) months of age.

“n) Infant formula – the breastmilk substitute formulated industrially in accordance with
applicable Codex Alimentarius standards, to satisfy the normal nutritional requirements
of infants up to six (6) months of age, and adopted to their physiological characteristics.

“o) Lactation management – the general care of a mother-infant nursing couple during
the mother’s prenatal, immediate postpartum and postnatal periods. It deals with
educating and providing knowledge and information to pregnant and lactating mothers
on the advantages of breastfeeding, the risks associated with breastmilk substitutes and
milk products not suitable as breastmilk substitutes such as, but not limited to,
condensed milk and evaporated milk, the monitoring of breastfeeding mothers by health
workers and breastfeeding peer counselors for service patients to ensure compliance
with the Department of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) and the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the implementation of breastfeeding policies, the
physiology of lactation, the establishment and maintenance of lactation, the proper care
of the breasts and nipples, and such other matters that would contribute to successful
breastfeeding.

“p) Lactation stations – private, clean, sanitary, and well-ventilated rooms or areas in the
workplace or public places where nursing mothers can wash up, breastfeed or express
their milk comfortably and store this afterward.

“q) Low birth weight infant – a newborn weighing less than two thousand five hundred
(2,500) grams at birth.

“r) Nursing employee – any female worker, regardless of employment status, who is
breastfeeding her infant and/or young child.
“s) Mother’s milk – the breastmilk from the newborn’s own mother.

“t) Non-health facilities, establishment or institution – public places and working places,
as defined in subparagraphs (u) and (y), respectively.

“u) Public place – enclosed or confined areas such as schools, public transportation
terminals, shopping malls, and the like.

“v) Rooming-in – the practice of placing the newborn in the same room as the mother
right after delivery up to discharge to facilitate mother-infant bonding and to initiate
breastfeeding. The infant may either share the mother’s bed or be placed in a crib
beside the mother.

“w) Seriously ill mothers – are those who are: with severe infections; in shock, in severe
cardiac or respiratory distress; or dying; or those with other conditions that may be
determined by the attending physician as serious.

“x) Wet-nursing – the feeding of a newborn from another mother’s breast when his/her
own mother cannot breastfeed.

“y) Workplace – work premises, whether private enterprises or government agencies,

including their subdivisions, instrumentalities and government-owned and -controlled
corporations.

“z) Young child – a child from the age of twelve (12) months and one (1) day up to thirty-
six (36) moths.

Section 4. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4. Applicability. – The provisions in this Chapter shall apply to all private
enterprises as well as government agencies, including their subdivisions and
instrumentalities, and government-owned and -controlled corporations.

Upon application to, and determination by, the Secretary of the Department of Labor
and Employment for the private sector, and the Chairperson of the Civil Service
Commission for the public sector, all health and non-health facilities, establishments
and institutions may be exempted for a renewable period of two (2) years from Section
6 of this Act where the establishment of lactation stations is not feasible or necessary
due to the peculiar circumstances of the workplace or public place taking into
consideration, among others, number of women employees, physical size of the
establishment, and the average number of women who visit.

All health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions which are exempted in
complying with the provisions of this Act but nevertheless opted to comply are entitled to
the benefits herein stated: Provided, That they give their employees the privilege of
using the same.

Section 5. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 10. Provision of Facilities for Breastmilk Collection and Storage for Health
Institutions. – The health institution adopting rooming-in and breastfeeding shall provide
equipment, facilities, and supplies for breastmilk collection, storage and utilization, the
standards of which shall be defined by the Department of Health. Health institutions are
likewise encouraged to set up milk banks for storage of breastmilk donated by mothers
and which have undergone pasteurization. The stored breastmilk will primarily be given
to children in the neonatal intensive care unit whose own mothers are seriously ill.

Section 6. A new Section 11, under a new Chapter, is added to read as follows:
 CHAPTER III
Lactation Stations

Sec. 11. Establishment of Lactation Stations. – It is hereby mandated that all health and
non-health facilities, establishments or institutions shall establish lactation stations. The
lactation stations shall be adequately provided with the necessary equipment and
facilities, such as: lavatory for hand-washing, unless there is an easily-accessible
lavatory nearby; refrigeration or appropriate cooling facilities for storing expressed
breastmilk; electrical outlets for breast pumps; a small table; comfortable seats; and
other items, the standards of which shall be defined by the Department of Health. The
lactation station shall not be located in the toilet.

In addition, all health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions shall take
strict measures to prevent any direct or indirect form of promotion, marketing, and/or
sales of infant formula and/or breastmilk substitutes within the lactation stations, or in
any event or circumstances which may be conducive to the same.

Apart from the said minimum requirements, all health and non-health facilities,
establishments or institutions may provide other suitable facilities or services within the
lactation station, all of which, upon due substantiation, shall be considered eligible for
purposes of Section 14 of this Act.

Section 7. A new Section 12 is hereby added to read as follows:

Sec. 12. Lactation Periods. – Nursing employees shall granted break intervals in
addition to the regular time-off for meals to breastfeed or express milk. These intervals,
which shall include the time it takes an employee to get to and from the workplace
lactation station, shall be counted as compensable hours worked. The Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) may adjust the same: Provided, That such intervals
shall not be less than a total of forty (40) minutes for every eight (8)-hour working
period.

Section 8. Section 11, which shall be under the renumbered Chapter IV of Republic Act
No. 7600, is hereby amended to read as follows:
 “CHAPTER IV”
“INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND RE-EDUCATION DRIVE”

“SEC. 13. Continuing Education, Re-education and Training of Health Workers and
Health Institutions. – The Department of Health with the assistance of other government
agencies, professional and nongovernmental organizations shall conduct continuing
information, education, re-education, and training programs for physicians, nurses,
midwives, nutritionist-dietitians, community health workers and traditional birth
attendants (TBAs) and other health worker on current and updated lactation
management.

Information materials shall be given to all health workers involved in maternal and infant
care health institutions.”

Section 9. Section 12 Information Dissemination and Educational Programs of

Pregnant Women and Women of Reproductive Age. – During the prenatal, perinatal
and postnatal consultations and/or confinements of the mothers or pregnant women in a
health institution and the health worker to immediately and continuously teach, train and
support the women on current and updated lactation management and infant care,
through participatory strategies such as organization of mothers’ clubs and
breastfeeding support groups and to distribute written information materials on such
matters free of charge.

“The Department of Health is hereby mandated to develop and provide breastfeeding

programs for working mothers whose employees are encouraged to avail of it as part of
their human resource development programs.

“To equip women of reproductive age with accurate information on maternal nutrition
and proper nourishment in preparation for successful and sustainable breastfeeding, the
Department of Health is likewise mandated to produce and make available relevant
information and programs which should be disseminated to all city, municipal and
barangay health centers.

“Employers are also highly encouraged to develop breastfeeding or lactation support

programs which main functions are to assess the needs of lactating employees with
adequate information regarding lactation management in the form of brochures,
pamphlets and other educational materials.”

Section 10. A new Section 15 is hereby added to read as follows:

“SEC. 15. Integration of Breastfeeding Education in the Curricula. – To encourage and

promote breastfeeding, the Department of Education, the Commission on higher
Education. And the Technical Education, and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority shall integrate in the relevant subjects in the elementary, high
school and college levels, especially in the medical and education, the importance,
benefits, methods or techniques of breastfeeding, and change of societal attitudes
towards breastfeeding.”

Section 11. A new Section 16 is hereby added to read as follows:

“SEC. 16. Breastfeeding Awareness Month. – To raise awareness on the importance of

and to further promote breastfeeding, the month of August in each and every year
throughout the Philippines shall be known as “Breastfeeding Awareness Month.”

Section 12. A new Section 17. Is hereby added to read as follows:

“SEC. 17. Public Education and Awareness Program. – To ensure the meaningful
observance of breastfeeding month as herein declared, a comprehensive national
public education and awareness program shall be undertaken in order to achieve the
following objectives:

“a) To protect, promote and support breastfeeding in the Philippines as the normal,
natural and preferred method of feeding infants and young children;

“b) To guarantee the rightful place of breastfeeding in society as a time honored

tradition and nurturing value as well as a national health policy that must be enforced;

“c) To provide information about the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding and the
high risks and costs of bottlefeeding;

“d) To generate awareness on, and full enforcement of, national and international laws,
codes, policies and programs on the promotion and protection of safe and adequate
nutrition for infants and young children by promoting and protecting breastfeeding and
regulating the marketing of certain foods and feeding bottles, teats and pacifiers; and

“e) To instill recognition and support and ensure access to comprehensive, current and
culturally appropriate lactation care and services for all women, children and families,
including support for breastfeeding mothers in the work force.

“The Department of Health shall lead in the implementation of the comprehensive

national public education and awareness program on breastfeeding through a
collaborative interagency and multi-sectoral effort at all levels.”

Section 13. A new Section 18, which shall be under the renumbered Chapter V of
Republic Act No. 7600, is hereby added to read as follows:
 CHAPTER V
Miscellaneous Provisions

“Sec. 18. Department of Health Certification. – Any health and non-health facility,
establishment or institution satisfying the requirements of Sections 6 and 7 herein
relative to a proper lactation station may apply with the local Department of Health office
for a ‘working mother-baby friendly’ certification. The Department of Health shall
promulgate guidelines to determine eligibility for such certification, which shall include
an annual Department of Health inspection to confirm the continued compliance with its
standards.

“The Department of Health shall maintain a list of ‘mother-baby-friendly’ establishments,

which it shall make available to the public.”

Section 14. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby renumbered and amended
to read as follows:

“Sec. 19. Incentives. – The expenses incurred by a private health and non-health
facility, establishment or institution, in complying with the provisions of this Act, shall be
deductible expenses for income tax purposes up to twice the actual amount
incurred: Provided, That the deduction shall apply for the taxable period when the
expenses were incurred: Provided, further, That all health and non-health facilities,
establishments and institutions shall comply with the provisions of this Act within six (6)
months after its approval: Provided, finally, That such facilities, establishments or
institutions shall secure a “Working Mother-Baby-Friendly Certificate” from the
Department of Health to be filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, before they can
avail of the incentive.

“Government facilities, establishments or institutions shall receive an additional

appropriation equivalent to the savings they may derive as a result of complying with the
provisions of this Act. The additional appropriation shall be included in their budget for
the next fiscal year.”

Section 15. A new Section 20 shall be added to read as follows:

“Sec. 20. Implementing Agency. – The Department of Health shall be principally

responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this Act.”

Section 16. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7600 is hereby renumbered and amended
to read as follows:

“Sec. 21. Sanctions. – Any private non-health facility, establishment and institution
which unjustifiably refuses or fails to comply with Sections 6 and 7 of this Act shall be
imposed a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00) but not more than
Two hundred thousand pesos (Php200,000.00) on the first offense.

“On the second offense, a fine of not less than Two hundred thousand pesos
(Php200,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00).

“On the third offense, a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos
(Php500,000.00) but not more than One million pesos (Php1,000,000.00) and the
cancellation or revocation of the business permits or licenses to operate.

“In all cases, the fine imposed should take into consideration, among others, number of
women employees, physical size of the establishment, and the average number of
women who visit.

“In addition, the Secretary of Health is hereby empowered to impose sanctions on

health institution for the violation of this Act and the rules issued thereunder. Such
sanctions may be in the form of reprimand or censure and in case of repeated willful
violations, suspension of the permit to operate of the erring health institution.

“Heads, officials and employees of government health and non-health facilities,

establishments and institutions who violate this Act shall further be subject to the
following administrative penalties:

“First offense – Reprimand;

“Second offense – Suspension for one (1) to thirty (30) days; and

“Third offense – Dismissal.

“This shall be without prejudice to other liabilities applicable under civil service law and
rules.”

Section 17. Funding. – Government agencies, including their subdivisions and

instrumentalities, shall use their respective budget for gender and development or their
budgets for repairs, maintenance and materials acquisition to comply with Section 6
hereof.

Section 18. Rules and Regulations. – The Department of Health, as the lead agency, in
coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Trade
and Industry, the Department of Justice, the Department of Social Welfare and
Development, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior and Local
Government, the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Higher Education, the
technical Education and Skills Development Authority and professional and
nongovernmental organizations concerned, shall issue within one hundred and twenty
(120) days upon its effectivity the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act.

Section 19. Separability Clause. – If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this Act
shall be declared to be invalid, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected
thereby shall remain in force and effect.

Section 20. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules
and regulations or parts thereof which are not consistent with this Act are hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Section 21. Effectivity Clause. – This Act 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.