House approves stiffer penalties for child abuse, exploitation

With 228 affirmative votes, zero negative vote, and no abstention, the chamber passed on third reading House Bill No. 137, which seeks to amend several key provisions of Republic Act No. (RA) 7610, as amended, also known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act”. (File Photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved on final reading a measure seeking to impose stiffer penalties for child abuse, exploitation, and discrimination.

With 228 affirmative votes, zero negative vote, and no abstention, the chamber passed on third reading House Bill No. 137, which seeks to amend several key provisions of Republic Act No. (RA) 7610, as amended, also known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act”.

House committee on the welfare of children chair Yedda Marie Romualdez said the measure aims to help prevent threats and harm to the security and safety of children, and to provide quality social protection services for them.

The bill proposes to penalize any person who shall hire, employ, use, persuade, induce or coerce a child to perform obscene exhibitions and indecent shows, whether live or in video, pose or model in obscene publications or pornographic materials or to sell or distribute the said materials with a penalty of imprisonment from 14 years, 8 months, and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months.

Any person who shall commit any other act of child abuse, cruelty, or exploitation or be responsible for the conditions prejudicial to the child’s development, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment from 12 years and 1 day to 14 years and 8 months.

Furthermore, any person who shall keep or have in his company a minor, 12 years or under or who is 10 years or more his junior, in any public or private place, hotel, motel, beer joint, discotheque, cabaret, pension house, sauna or massage parlor, beach, and/or other tourist resort or similar places shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment from 14 years, 8 months, and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months, as well as a fine of not less than PHP500,000.

Should the perpetrator be an ascendant, stepparent or guardian of the minor the same penalties apply and the loss of parental authority over the minor.

This specific provision shall not apply to any person who is related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity or any bond recognized by law, local custom and tradition, or acts in the performance of a social, moral, or legal duty.

Any person who discriminates against children of indigenous cultural communities shall suffer a penalty from 2 years, 4 months, and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months of imprisonment, and a fine of not less than PHP50,000 nor more than PHP100,000.

The offender shall likewise undergo a reeducation and reorientation program on the Indigenous Peoples Culture of the Philippines to be conducted by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples or the Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples Rights.