Safe haven for abandoned newborns sought

MANILA, Philippines — The government must ensure greater protection for abandoned infants by providing safe haven for them and repeal provisions in the Revised Penal Code (RPC) that punish their parents, according to a bill filed by Sen. Bong Revilla.

Senate Bill 1584, or the proposed “Newborn Infant Safe Haven Act,” seeks to repeal Article 276 of the RPC that penalizes parents who abandon their newborns or child below seven years of age with arrest and fines.

“Albeit an offense punishable by law, it does not seem to deter the rising incidence of infant abandonment. Poverty is often the root cause of abandonment especially during these trying economic times,” the senator said in his bill.

The fear of criminal prosecution causes desperate parents, often juvenile mothers and fathers who are unready to take on the responsibilities of parenthood, to abandon newborn infants often in unsafe places and in life-threatening conditions, Revilla said.

His proposed bill seeks to ensure a safe haven for abandoned newborn infants, providing their parents, especially the mothers, with the option to properly and safely relinquish their newborns to recognized child-caring and child-placing agencies and institutions.