BATAAN Rep. Geraldine Roman yesterday filed a bill seeking to impose stiffer penalties on abuse, exploitation, and discrimination of children, especially those from indigenous cultural communities.
House Bill No. 226 seeks to amend Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, to impose fines and even imprisonment “on any person who will hire, employ, use, persuade, induce, or coerce a child to perform in indecent shows or model in obscene publications or to sell or distribute the said materials.”
Violators will face prison time of 14 years, eight months and one day up to 17 years and four months. However, if the child involved is below 12 years of age, the penalty becomes 30 years and one day up to 40 years.
Accompanying 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, among others) shall suffer the penalty from 14 years, eight months and one day up to 17 years and four months and pay a fine of not less than P500,000.
However, this does not cover any person who is related to the child within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity or any bond recognized by law.
The bill also penalizes with imprisonment of 12 years and one day up to 30 years those who coerce a street child to beg or use begging as a means of living or use them as middlemen in drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
On child labor, violators shall be penalized by imprisonment of one year and one day up to six years, and a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P400,000 or both at the discretion of the court.
Those who facilitate or employ children in hazardous work shall suffer a fine of not less than P200,000 but not more than P1,000,000 or imprisonment of not less than 12 years and one day up to 20 years or both imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court.
The bill also penalizes any person who discriminates against children of indigenous cultural communities with imprisonment of two years, four months and one day up to four years and two months, and a fine of not less than P50,000 nor more than P100,000. The offender will also be made to undergo re-education and re-orientation program on the indigenous peoples’ culture in the Philippines.
