Editorial

Banning physical punishment vs kids

President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed the bill banning corporal punishment for children.

In his message, Duterte said he worries that the bill would ban all forms of corporal punishment, when he views some forms of it as acceptable.

The president emphasized he is of the firm conviction that responsible parents can and have administered corporal punishment in a self-restrained manner, such that the children remember if not as an act of hate or abuse, but a loving act of discipline that desires only to uphold their welfare.

He added that the country should resist the "growing trend" in Western countries that looks down on corporal punishment, saying that the "cultural trends of other countries are not necessarily healthy for our own nation."

The President said he favors a "more balanced and nuanced approach," which would both protect the child and recognize the rights of parents who believe in corporal punishment.

He added the measure would allow the government to cross the privacy, sanctity and autonomy of families.

With the veto, corporal punishment will remain allowed, contrary to the recommendations of the UN Commission on Human Rights to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings.

A two-thirds vote in each of the two chambers of Congress can override Duterte's veto and would enact the bill into a law.

The House passed in November 2018 House Bill No. 8239 or the the Positive and Nonviolent Discipline of Children Bill which seeks to protect children from physical, humiliating or degrading acts as a form of punishment. The Senate passed its version in October.

The bill sought to shield children from corporal punishment in homes, schools, institutions, alternative care systems, the juvenile welfare system, places of religious worship and in all other settings where there is direct contact with children.

There are no additional penalties imposed for harming children, instead the bill mandated that the barangay (village) chairman refers the offender and the offended party to mediation and reconciliation or recommend temporary restraining orders. CNN Philippines