HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo and House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Paul Daza have joined forces to protect solo parents and to hold accountable the so-called “deadbeat” parents or those who refuse to provide child support.
In an interview last week during the policy forum organized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Northern Samar Representative Daza said he and Tulfo plan to consolidate House Bill No. 44 or the “Child Support Bill” authored by Daza and House Bill No. 8987 or “An Act Punishing the Willful Failure to Pay Paternal Child Support” of Tulfo from the ACT-CIS Partylist and come up with what they called “Anti-Balasubas Bill.”
The “Anti-Balasubas Bill” seeks to obligate either a father or a mother to provide sufficient support, primarily financial, for an abandoned child whether legitimate or not.
The two lawmakers said that under the proposed “Anti-Balasubas Bill,” the government will help either the father or the mother to seek gainful employment in order to provide financial support to their children.
“Dapat isipin ng mga magulang na obligasyon nila na maibigay ang pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak kahit pa wala ito sa kanilang kustodiya,” according to Daza.
With HB No. 44, it mandates the provision where parents should provide monthly financial support of not lower than P6,000 even if the child was not raised under their care, and to establish the National Child Support Program (NCSP).
Under HB No. 8987, on the other hand, which was authored by Tulfo together with ACT-CIS partylist Reps. Jocelyn Tulfo and Edvic Yap and two other solons, Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Ralph Tulfo, 10 percent of the parent’s income should be set aside as monthly financial support and should not be less than P6,000.
Any parent who fails to provide financial support may face a prison term of up to 12 years, plus fines ranging from P100,000 up to P300,000.
“Kaya inaayos namin at tuloy-tuloy ang aming pakikipagpulong at konsultasyon para maayos itong batas at gusto naming maseguro na mapo-proteksyunan ang mga solo parent at kanilang mga anak,” according to Tulfo during the DSWD forum.
The two legislators believe that with the proposed “Anti Balasubas Bill,” children abandoned by their parents will be given ample protection.
They added that their consultations with various sectors will continue to help fine-tune their proposed bill and to ensure that solo parents will be protected.
The forum was organized by the DSWD and was attended by 100 individuals from the RTC Family Court Social Welfare, Social Welfare and Development Agencies (SWDAs), LGU-City Social Welfare and Development Office, KALIPI Organization, Council for Welfare of the Children, DSWD- Central Office (CO) and employees of DSWD-National Capital Region, including single parent groups to determine possible ways on how to help a father or mother be able to provide support to their children.