Short answer. For the first four. RA 8187 grants a married male employee a paternity leave of seven (7) days with full pay for the first four (4) deliveries of the legitimate spouse with whom he is cohabiting. After the fourth delivery, the statutory paternity leave is no longer available.
What the law says
every married male employee in the private and public sectors shall be entitled to a paternity leave of seven (7) days with full pay for the first four (4) deliveries of the legitimate spouse with whom he is cohabiting
RA 8187, Section 2 — Seven Days Paternity Leave. Read the full provision →
The count stops at four deliveries
RA 8187 fixes the ceiling plainly. A qualified employee is entitled to seven days of paternity leave with full pay for the first four (4) deliveries of the legitimate spouse with whom he is cohabiting. The benefit is tied to the number of deliveries, not to a period of years or a number of employers. Once your spouse has had four deliveries for which the leave could be claimed, the statutory entitlement is used up. A fifth and later delivery does not carry a fresh seven-day paternity leave under this law.
What counts as a delivery
The law is broader than live birth on this point. It states that delivery shall include childbirth or any miscarriage. So a miscarriage counts as one of the four deliveries just as a childbirth does. This matters both ways: it means the leave is available to support a spouse through a miscarriage, and it means such an event uses up one of the four occasions the law allows. Reading the count as though only successful births consume it would misstate the entitlement, because the statute expressly folds miscarriage into the same tally.
Who qualifies, and the notice duty
The entitlement is written for a married male employee, in either the private or public sector, whose legitimate spouse is the one delivering and with whom he is cohabiting. Those elements — marriage, a legitimate spouse, and cohabitation — frame who may claim it. The law also puts a step on the employee: he shall notify his employer of the pregnancy of his legitimate spouse and the expected date of such delivery. Paternity leave is meant to let the husband lend support around the delivery, so telling the employer in advance is part of properly availing of it.
What the four-delivery cap does not change
This limit is specific to the seven-day paternity leave RA 8187 creates. It does not speak to a mother's own maternity leave, which is governed by separate law, nor to leave benefits an employer may voluntarily grant beyond the statutory minimum. Reaching the fourth delivery ends the paternity-leave entitlement under this Act, but it does not affect other leaves you may be entitled to for different reasons. If your situation involves more than four deliveries or a benefit larger than the statutory seven days, the source of that additional benefit would be a company policy or agreement, not this provision.