Lawmakers push for Magna Carta of Children bill

Several legislators, both in the Senate and the House of Representatives, on Monday filed their respective measures which seek to safeguard the rights of Filipino children.

During the ceremonial signing of the Magna Carta of Children bill, Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality Chair Senator Risa Hontiveros said that the measure aimed to make every Filipino child feel that they are safe and that they are being looked after.

She went on to recount the stories of several children who became Senate witnesses, narrating their own stories of abuse. 

In particular, Hontiveros spoke of the alleged sexual abuse and forced marriage among children in Socorro, Surigao del Norte, and the reported sexual violence and child abuse by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

“We have learned from psychology, from history, from our personal experiences that our childhood affects us for the rest of our lives. I hope that the Magna Carta of Children can also serve as our healing balm,” she said in filing Senate Bill No. 2612.

“I hope even a tiny bit of weight is lifted, a measure of justice, felt. Protecting our children now also protects the adults that they will become. Protecting our children now protects our collective future,” she added.

A counterpart bill was also filed at the lower house Monday afternoon. Among the principal authors of the House bill was Speaker Martin Romualdez, who called on his fellow legislators to support the passage of the bill.

“The quality of our nation’s future depends on the quality of life that our children have. The Magna Carta of Children, once enacted into law, will raise the standard of living of the most vulnerable in our society,” he said in a statement.

According to the Child Rights Network, the measure recognized that a child had human rights just like an adult, having the right to survival, development, protection, and participation. It also seeks to strengthen the existing child-serving institutions of the government.

Some of the highlights of the Magna Carta of Children bill are:

• creation of the Philippine Commission on Children that would abolish the Council for the Welfare of Children;
• the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to be designated as the Ombudsman for Children;
• establishment of a system of scholarship grants, student loan programs, subsidies, and other incentives that shall be available to deserving students in both public and private schools, especially to the underprivileged;
• no restrictions shall be placed that curtail the children’s freedom of expression, except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health;
• protection of children seeking refugee status; and
• development of a National Parenting Framework by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

— DVM, GMA Integrated News