House: Stop using violent methods to discipline kids

Spanking and other physical forms of punishment may soon be a thing of the past, as the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill promoting positive and non-violent discipline of children.

Principally authored by Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy (Party-list, BH), House Bill 8239 or the proposed "Positive and Non-Violent Discipline of Children Act" seeks to protect children from physical, humiliating, or degrading acts as a form of punishment.

It was sponsored and defended on the floor by Committee on Welfare of Children Chairperson Rep. Divina Grace Yu (1st District, Zamboanga dl Sur).

The bill seeks to assist parents in the fulfillment of their parental obligations through positive and non-violent methods of disciplining their children. As a result, children shall be shielded from the grave consequences of corporal punishment by prohibiting the infliction of all forms of humiliating or degrading punishment on them in all settings.

Moreover, the measure establishes a legal framework to the country's commitment to various international agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and Convention on the Rights of the Child on protecting the young generation of Filipinos.

HB 8239 defines physical, humiliating, or degrading acts of punishment as any form of punishment or discipline in which physical force is used and intended to cause pain or discomfort or any non-physical act that causes a child to feel belittled, denigrated, threatened, or ridiculed.

The bill mandates that children must be protected from this kind of punishment in homes, schools, institutions, alternative care systems, the juvenile welfare system, places of religious worship, and in all other setting where there is direct contact with children.

Any person having personal knowledge of such act or acts may file a report, which shall be brought to the attention of the barangay and/or the police. The police are mandated by the measure to then bring the report to the attention of the barangay or a healthcare provider.

Upon receipt of a report, the Punong Barangay shall immediately determine if the committed acts fall under the definition of physical, humiliating, or degrading acts as a form of punishment.
If there is such determination, the Punong Barangay may refer both the offender and the offended party to mediation and conciliation. In extreme cases where the safety of the children is at stake, the Punong Barangay may recommend temporary protection orders, taking into consideration the best interest of the children.

The Punong Barangay shall require repeat offenders to undertake seminars on positive discipline, anger management, and children's rights; undergo counseling or therapy; and/or avail of other rehabilitative services as may be applicable.

Moreover, the measure does not prevent the imposition upon all offenders with the maximum penalties provided for under existing laws if the offense is punishable under the Revised Penal Code and other special laws.

Meanwhile, the children shall be provided counseling and if necessary, be accorded other proper interventions.

Any person who, acting in good faith, responds or intervenes without using violence or restraint greater than necessary to ensure the safety of the victim shall not be criminally, civilly, or administratively liable.

All records pertaining to cases of punishment prohibited by HB 8239 shall be kept confidential and the right to privacy of the victim shall be represented.

The victim or an immediate member of their family may file an action for damages against whoever publishes or causes to be published, without prior consent, any identifying information of a victim or their immediate family.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), together with the Department of Education (DepEd) and other concerned agencies, shall formulate and implement a comprehensive program to promote positive and non-violent discipline. The agencies shall further conduct a continuing information dissemination campaign nationwide on how to practice positive discipline.

In addition, the DSWD and other concerned agencies shall provide assistance to victims and ensure delivery of intervention programs.

SOURCE: Czarina Engracia (2018). Bill promoting positive, non-violent discipline for children hurdles 2nd reading. 11 October 2018 02:40:51 PM. www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=10977

The House of Representatives of the Philippines (Filipino: Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, Spanish: Cámara de Representantes de Filipinas), is the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines. It is often commonly referred to as Congress and informally referred to as 'Camara'. Members of the House are officially styled as representative (Kinatawan) and sometimes informally called Congressmen/Congresswomen (mga kongresista) and are elected to a three-year term. They can be re-elected, but cannot serve more than three consecutive terms. Around eighty percent of congressmen are district representatives, representing a particular geographical area. There are 234 legislative districts in the country, each composed of about 250,000 people. There are also party-list representatives elected through the party-list system who constitute not more than twenty percent of the total number of representatives.

SOURCES: House of Representatives of the Philippines. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Representatives_of_the_Philippines;