Lawmaker seeks nationwide 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for minors

A measure imposing curfew on minors or those aged 17 and below and penalizing parents of repeat offenders with jail time has been filed in the House of Representatives.

Under House Bill 1016 or the Nationwide Curfew Act filed by Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera, minors are prohibited to roam around, wander, stay, or meander in all public places from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., singly or in groups, without lawful purpose or justifiable reason.

In addition, the bill provides that it will be illegal for a parent or guardian of a minor to knowingly permit or by insufficient control allow the minor to remain in any public place during curfew.

For the first offense, a minor found violating the measure will be referred to the nearest barangay hall or police station. The Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) will then conduct child counseling before the minor is properly turned over to his or her parent/s or guardian/s.

Moreover, the parent/s or guardian/s of the minor in violation of the measure will be summoned to fetch the minor from the barangay hall, and prior to the turnover, the parent/s or guardian/s will be informed of the consequences if the minor will violate the curfew again.

Parents and guardians of first-time offenders will be penalized with 48 hours of community service and/or a fine of P2,000.

Herrera, in her explanatory note, argued that children below the age of 18 are vulnerable to abuse leading to exploitation, drug addiction, and the commission of criminal acts, as well as being at risk of committing criminal offenses themselves.

"This [vulnerability] has resulted to an increasingly alarming rate of children who have gone missing for over 24 hours, children that are abused by syndicates and unscrupulous individuals, as well as have been involved in crimes concerning abduction, rape, abuse, and theft, murder, among others," she said.

"The bill seeks to mandate and strictly implement a set of hours during night time within which minors are prohibited from remaining outside of the home not only as a means of maintaining public order and safety and preventing the further rise in criminality but also in order to protect minors from potential threat that may arise in the remote environment which maybe harmful or detrimental to their development," she added.

Repeat offenders

Those who will violate curfew for the second time will be  be required to attend, together with his or her parent/s or guardian/s, two consecutive regular sessions of counseling conducted by the BCPC, provided, that the BCPC chairperson will certify the fact of compliance or non-compliance by the concerned minor and his/her parent/s or guardians with this penalty.

Likewise, the violator and/or his or her parent/s or guardian/s will also be required to submit the certification issued by the BCPC chairperson to the Punong Barangay and the apprehending officer within a period not exceeding two months from the date of violation.

In addition, parent/s or guardian/s of the minor violating curfew will be required to render 72 hours of community service and/or a P3,000 fine.

Those who commit the offense for the third time and for every subsequent offense, however, will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office with jurisdiction over the locality of the residence of the minor for appropriate counseling and proper disposition on the matter.

The parents parent/s or guardian/s of the minor violating curfew for the third time or more will be penalized with a fine of P5,000 and/or imprisonment of six months.

The bill, however, provides for exemptions which include:

• minors accompanied by any parent or guardian;
• minors on their way to or from a party, graduation ceremony, religious mass, or other extracurricular activities of their school or organization wherein their attendance are required or otherwise indispensable, or when such minors are out and unable to go home early due to circumstances beyond their control as verified by proper authorities concerned;
• minors engaged in an employment activity duly authorized by the Department of Labor and Employment, or going to or returning home from the same place of employment activity, without any detour or stop;
• a minor in a motor vehicle accompanied by a parent or guardian, or any adult authorized by the parent or guardian;
• a minor in an emergency situation;
• a minor out of his/her residence attending an official school, religious, recreational, educational, social, community, or other similar private activity sponsored by their respective city, municipality, barangay, school, or other similar private civic or religious organization recognized by the community that supervises the activity or when the minor is going to or returning home from such activity, without any detour or stop; and
• a minor with proper documentation he or she is a student and  was dismissed from classes in the evening, or that he or she is a working student.

—AOL, GMA News