Measure on non-violent discipline vetoed

Manila - President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed a proposed measure aimed at promoting peace and non-violent discipline by prohibiting parents from employing corporal punishment on children.

Executive Salvador Medialdea confirmed this in an interview with Palace reporters on Thursday, February 28.

Medialdea said the Chief Executive opposed the proposal to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment for children.

"May personal stand siya. Ayaw ni Presidente. Reading ko lang sa kanya (He has a stand. The President does not like it. That's my reading)," he said.

A measure from Congress that was submitted to Duterte seeks ban of any form of punishment for children using physical force and intended to cause pain or discomfort, or any nonphysical act that causes a child to feel belittled, denigrated, threatened, or ridiculed.

In a statement, former special assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence Go said Duterte has "valid reasons" for vetoing the proposed law that intends to protect children from physical, humiliating or degrading acts as a form of punishment.

“Kilala ko po si Pangulong Duterte bilang mapagmahal na ama at hindi niya gustong makaranas ng anumang klase ng parusa ang mga bata na makakasama sa kanila (I know President Duterte as a loving father and he does not want any children to experience any forms of punishment that will harm them),” Go said.