SENATOR Juan Edgardo Angara is pushing for a measure promoting menstrual health and hygiene by providing free menstrual products to indigent women and girls enrolled in public schools nationwide.

Angara filed Senate Bill 2658 or the proposed Free Menstrual Products Act.

“Empowering women is crucial to the health and social development of families in the country as they play a vital role in nation building being the giver of life or the ones who bear children in their womb,” Angara said in his explanatory note.

The senator said one pivotal stage of womanhood is menstruation as it is crucial in the creation of life and human development.

However, the civil society organization Humanist Alliance Philippines found in their survey that 74 percent of women between the ages of 14 and 30 have missed work or school because they did not have access to feminine hygiene products or felt too embarrassed to leave the house due to the lack of products.

“With a population of close to 120 million people in our country, including more than 34 million adolescent girls and women of reproductive age, it is only proper that the State ensures their rights are protected through the provision of adequate support in their needs, specifically in access to health care,” he added.

The measure mandates the Department of Health, in coordination with the Department of Education provide free menstrual products to female students enrolled in all public primary and secondary schools nationwide.

In coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Tatak Pinoy Council, the DOH shall ensure the locally-made menstrual hygiene products depending on availability and by the provisions of relevant procurement laws.