PARENTS who refuse to provide support to their children may face criminal liability if the bill proposed by Northern Samar Rep. Paul Daza (1st district) is approved and signed into law.
Daza said he has included fines, imprisonment, and other harsh provisions in his House Bill No. 44, or the proposed “Act Ensuring Child Support and Penalizing Parental Refusal or Neglect Thereof.”
“In my version of the bill, I had harsh provisions in there, like imprisonment,” said Daza during the hearing of the House Committee on Welfare of Children.
Daza, who is also the Senior Deputy Minority Leader, said he proposed the sanctions to “strengthen mandates on child welfare and protection.” “Make the law na talagang magkaroon ng ngipin para matakot ‘yung non-custodial parent, para magbayad, magbigay (to really have teeth, to scare the non-custodial parent into providing)” he added.
Daza said parent negligence remains a “perennial problem” among Filipino households, citing a World Health Organization study indicating that there may be up to 14 million single-parent households in the Philippines.
This was backed by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Bureau Director Miramel Garcia-Laxa who said that around 280 child custody cases were brought to the agency’s attention in 2022 alone.
The PNP also said it had recorded 3,684 cases of economic violence against women from 2018 to 2023, which includes child support negligence under Republic Act (RA) No. 9262.
The approval of HB No. 44, Daza said, “essentially addresses the gaps to make it easier for custodial parents to be able to enforce child support.”
“I think that it is time for the House, for our country, to have a national debate on how we can improve existing laws and regulations that address the welfare of children, in particular, problems that single-parent households face,” he said.
Daza’s bill proposes a child support amount of P6,000 monthly, while the DSWD and the courts decide on the final amount. Should non-custodial parents fail after two months or upon incurring P30,000 in outstanding amounts, it will lead them to be liable for imprisonment of up to four years and a fine of up to P300,000.
Other penalties for negligent parents will also be integrated with the issuance of government documents, including a hold departure order on immigration.
“While keeping our children protected and nourished is the objective, the happiest outcome we could arrive at is keeping more families together,” Daza said.
