House OKs bill banning violent forms of disciplining kids

The House of Representatives has unanimously approved on third and final reading a bill prohibiting violent forms of disciplining children.

 

House Bill 4907, otherwise known as the proposed Positive Discipline Act, seeks to protect children against corporal punishment. Among the violent methods of discipline prohibited under the measure are acts that humiliate and degrade children like kicking, slapping, hair-pulling and dragging. 

 

The bill also forbids the use of threats to force children to perform physically painful or damaging acts such as kneeling on stones, refusal to provide the child’s physical needs and tying up a child.

 

Verbal abuse, swearing or cursing, and making a child look or feel foolish in front of one’s peers or public are also banned.

 

Akbayan party-list Rep. Barry Gutierrez, a co-author of the bill, said the proposed legislation will ensure the safety and well-being of children in their homes, schools and communities, as well as help sustain an environment that fosters positive reinforcement of children’s behavior.

 

“Effective and positive discipline establishes the foundation for children to learn self-discipline, protects them from dangers of violent discipline and help instill in them the value of self-control and responsibility,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

 

“We strongly discourage parents and guardians to discipline with sticks, which, in the long run, may prove counterproductive, for both parents and children,” he added.

 

Violators face penalties under existing penal laws in the maximum period or arresto mayor in its maximum period, except where a higher penalty is provided for under Act 3815, or the Revised Penal Code (RPC), as amended, or under Republic Act 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act. 

 

Prosecutors are also advised to refer the accused to the local Social Welfare and Development Office (SWDO) for assessment and interventions if the penalty imposed for the act is only arresto menor or arresto mayor. Suspected transgressors will then undergo seminars and counseling on children’s rights, positive and non-violent discipline of children, anger management, and referrals to other rehabilitative services. — RSJ, GMA News