House panel OKs bill banning child marriage

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on women and gender equality has approved a proposed measure banning child marriage in the country.

In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, committee members decided to consolidate four bills seeking to declare child marriage as illegal.

The panel chaired by Bukidnon Rep. Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba will come up with a substitute measure for House Bill 1486 authored by Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, HB 3899 authored by Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, HB 5670 by Malabon City Rep. Josephine Veronique Lacson-Noel and HB 7922 by Parañaque City Rep. Joy Myra Tambunting.

The substitute bill will specify the penalties to be imposed on violators.

The lawmakers stressed the need to pass the measure, citing a 2017 United Nations Children’s Fund study which showed that the Philippines ranked 12th among countries with the highest number of child brides at 726,000.

An estimated 15 percent of Filipino girls are married before the age of 18 while two percent are married before the age of 15, according to the UN report.

“As an ASEAN member state, we are committed to eliminating child, early and forced marriages by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. We ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which sets a minimum age of 18 for marriage,” Acosta-Alba said.

Vargas, House committee on social services chairman, blamed the problem on the “intergenerational nature of poverty.”

“Some of these brides were discovered to have entered marriage through commercial sex and sex trafficking as well as the infamous mail-order bride industry. The problem of child marriage is complicated but not unsolved. Clear legislation, pro-children policies and multi-sectoral programs could address the problem and render the practice of child marriage obsolete,” he said.

Tambunting said child marriage is taking its toll on the physical and psychological well-being of children.

International humanitarian organization Oxfam lauded the House panel’s approval of the measure, saying it would strengthen child protection mechanisms to prevent acts of violence and abuse.

Grave human rights violation

“Child marriage is a grave violation of human rights and a serious public health issue... We believe that ending child marriage requires a coordinated multi-sectoral approach that will engage girls, boys, parents, teachers, national and local authorities and decision makers and a broad range of other stakeholders,” Jeanette Dulawan, Oxfam Pilipinas program manager for Gender Justice, said.

Oxfam is a part of the “Girl Defenders” alliance, which includes lawmakers, youth campaigners, women’s rights organizations and government agencies, such as the Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine Commission on Women.

Non-government organization Child Rights Network Philippines convenor Romeo Dongeto welcomed the decision of the House panel and expressed hope that the measure could be passed before the adjournment of the 18th Congress.

The Senate passed its version of the bill last November. – Elizabeth Marcelo