Lawmaker bats for mandated child support; wants ‘deadbeat parents’ punished
MANILA, Philippines — Irresponsible parents will be compelled to give child support and be punished for skipping them if a lawmaker’s proposed measure becomes law.
House Bill No. 44, filed on June 30, aims to mandate child support of not less than P6,000 and sanction neglectful parents by barring them from applying for new passports, drivers’ licenses, and other documents, according to its author, Northern Samar Rep. Paul Daza.
Under the bill, a parent who is required to pay child support but willfully fails to pay for two months or more than P30,000 will be held liable. In addition, first-time offenders will be subjected to probation, while repeat offenders may be imprisoned for two to four years and fined at least P100,000.
“Ang tawag po nila dito sa ibang mga bansa, Anti-Deadbeat Father Act, ‘yong mga magulang dito, in the case of Philippines 95 percent kasi ng mga neglectful parents ay lalaki, meron ding babae, the bill is written not to be discriminatory, this is as responsible parenthood para sa mga tatay at nanay,” Daza explained during a press conference on Monday.
“Pero ‘pag hindi responsible, the law will mandate na magbigay ng child support. Nasa batas na po ‘yan pero hindi natin nae-enforce, so this bill will put more teeth in the law, and would even allow government agencies, na ‘pag na-establish na na may child support ka na kailangan ibayad at hindi mo tinutupad […] the government can withhold issuance ng passports, driver’s license,” he added.
Daza said he found the bill necessary as the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated in 2018 that around 14 million households in the Philippines only have one parent – mostly female (95 percent).
He also made clear in his bill’s explanatory note that while existing laws like Republic Act No. 8972 or the Solo Parents Welfare Act and R.A. No. 9262 or Violence Against Women and Children Act have provisions protecting the family, there is still a need to help broken families cope with economic needs.
“For example, while RA 8972 provides special privileges like discounts, leave credits, and flexible work schedule for solo parents, what these parents need more is an increase in their purchasing power, which can be done by compelling non-custodial parents to contribute toward their child’s basic necessities,” House Bill No. 44’s exploratory note states.
“Seeing the important role of non-custodial or absentee spouses/partners in raising healthy and secure children, there is a need to enact a child support enforcement law. This proposed law will have more teeth than any other similar existing or proposed law,” it also says.
House Bill No. 44, Daza said, would also prevent the practice of solo parents skipping mediations due to aversions to legal proceedings as disputes can be settled within the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
And if the parent does not have a good source of income, he or she will be given help by the government to provide him or her a job to meet his or her obligations.
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