PHILIPPINES: National Laws

Summary: General overview of the Philippines' national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights 

Status of CRC in national law
The Convention is not incorporated directly into national law, and its rights and principles must be specifically implemented through national legislation to be directly enforceable. Nonetheless, the Convention can be and has been cited as an instructive authority in national case law.

Constitution: the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines contains a number of rights provisions, and a small number of provisions that directly address the rights of children:

• Article XIII, section 11 requires the State to adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to “health development” available to all people at affordable cost, giving special priority to children

• Article XIV, section 2(2) provides for free and compulsory elementary and high school education,

• Article XIV, section 3(3) provides for the teaching of religion to children in schools, so long as the parent or guardian of the child has given his or her written consent

• Article XV, section 3(2): requires the State to defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and provides for special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development

Legislation: Philippine law does not have a comprehensive Code or Act that addresses the rights of children, but it does have a number of broad, thematic Codes and a range of legislation that address those rights. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:

• Civil Code

• Family Code

• Labour Code

• Child and Youth Welfare Code

• Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (Republic Act 9262)

• Child Protection Act (Republic Act No 7610)

• Juvenile Justice and welfare Act (republic Act 9344)

• Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act 9710)

• Act on the prohibition of the death penalty (Republic Act 9346) 

Legal research:
Both the Senate (http://www.senate.gov.ph/) and House of Representatives (http://www.congress.gov.ph/) of the Philippines maintain official websites in English offering extensive information on proposed and current legislation. The Constitution is available through the ChanRobles online law library (http://www.chanrobles.com/philsupremelaw2.html), as is a database of Philippine laws (http://www.chanrobles.com/philippinelaws.htm).

In addition, the GlobaLex initiative at New York University has published a guide to legal research in the Philippines (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Philippines1.htm), and both the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/philippines.php) and World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/247.html) have assembled a selection of relevant government and legal research links. 

Case law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

Case Law Research
The Supreme Court of the Philippines maintains an official website in English (http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/) offering full text decisions, as does the Court of Appeals (http://ca.judiciary.gov.ph/). A searchable database of Supreme Court decisions from 1901 to present is also available via the Chan Robles online law library (http://www.chanrobles.com/scdecisions/). 

Compliance with the CRC
In its 2009 Concluding Observations, the Committee noted the sizeable number of legislative initiatives undertaken by the Philippines in the area of children's rights but was, in many instances, critical of the Government for failing to enact draft bills. The Committee was also critical of the State's failure to implement and enforce the child rights legislation that it has enacted, particularly the Child Protection Act 1992. 

In depth analysis:
De facto discrimination is widespread in the Philippines with regards to girls, children living in poverty, children with disabilities, indigenous and minority children, and children from rural areas. In addition, while most discrimination is legally prohibited, there is no legal protection against discrimination on the basis of parents' marital status. The Committee has recommended that that the State revise its legislation so as to establish equal treatment of children regardless of the marital status of their parents, particularly with regards to inheritance.

The Committee has welcomed legislation prohibiting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, but it has expressed concern that the legislation prohibiting such treatment does not apply in all settings. A high number of cases of torture affecting children have been reported, particularly children in detention. The Committee does not consider national legislation in this area sufficient to protect children against torture and ill-treatment, and it has urged the State to enact anti-torture legislation, investigate complaints of torture, and prosecute and adequately punish those who commit the crime. There is also no law explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment in the home, and such violence is widespread and socially acceptable.

Children continue to be involved in armed conflict in the Philippines, and though there is legislation prohibiting the recruitment of children, this legislation does not provide for sanctions for the crime. The Committee has called on the State to take appropriate legislative measures to ensure that the recruitment of children for armed conflict is prohibited and that those involved in the practice are prosecuted and adequately punished. 

Current legal reform projects
As of October 2009, the State reported that a number of legal reform projects were under way, including:

• Anti-Corporal Punishment Bill No. 682

• Bill No. 5846 criminalising torture

• Anti-Child Pornography Bill No. 2317

• Age of Statutory Rape and Acts of Sexual Abuse Bill No. 2172

In addition, an initiative to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 years to 9 years resulted in a Bill before Parliament in 2008, and was still under discussion as recently as December 2010.