THE IRR OF RA 10028: NOW IT'S SIGNED, NOW IT'S NOT!

Fifteen months. It has been 15 months since Republic Act No. 10028, otherwise known as the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 (EBPA), was signed into law by GMA. 

Under Section 18 of the said law, the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the other departments and government agencies, is mandated to issue the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) within 120 days from the effectivity of the EBPA.

Obviously, that period has long transpired. 

So where is the signed IRR?

Sometime in March 2011, breastfeeding advocates got hold of a copy of the IRR signed by the DOH Secretary. This signed IRR created an uproar in the brestfeeding community. Why? It appears that its Sec. 10 imposed an additional condition, one that is difficult to meet that it effectively puts to naught the provision on the establishment of lactation stations. Sec. 10 of the supposedly signed IRR is quoted below:

"Section 10. Minimum Requirements in the Establishment of Lactation Stations. - It is hereby mandated that all health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions, which have at least 100 women of reproductive age working in the establishment or institution, including public places, shall establish lactation stations. x x x"

For a more a detailed write-up on this, you may check the post of fellow lawyer J. of Chronicles of a Nursing Mom here.

So when I was writing my previous post regarding lactation periods, I decided to check the website of the DOH for a copy of the supposedly signed IRR. Lo and behold! As per the DOH website, the IRR of RA 10028 is for public hearing! I checked it again this afternoon and this is what I saw:

See the date and time on the lower right hand side!

Close-up view

I was able to download a copy of the draft by clicking "Draft IRR of RA 10028". Interestingly, the highly controversial Section 10 is worded as follows:

"Section 10.   Minimum Requirements in the Establishment of Workplace Lactation Stations. - It is hereby mandated that all health and non-health facilities, establishments or institutions shall establish lactation stations. x x x"

The questionable and highly contentious requirement of at least 100 women of reproductive age is no longer found in the said draft!

It's possible that the DOH website is simply not updated. I sent a message to DOH Breastfeeding TSEK asking if the IRR of RA 10028 has already been signed. The answer--Not yet.

Not contented with this, I called the DOH hotline and was able to talk with someone who confirmed that the DOH Secretary had indeed previously signed the IRR. Unfortunately, it was the wrong draft/version. Which is why the previously signed IRR has not been published!

So there you have it--the case of the now it's signed, now it's not IRR!