Children Punishment Veto Message
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Pursuant to Section 27(1), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, I am returning herewith my signature enrolled bill Senate Bill (SB) No. 1477/House Bill(HB) No. 8239, entitled:
“An act promoting positive and non-violent discipline, protecting children from physical, humilating or degrading acts as a form of punishment and appropriating funds therefor,”
I believe as much as Congress does that every child should be protected from humilating forms of punishment. To the extent this bill would enable the State to put a stop to such forms of punishment, it is a salutary piece of legislation. However, I am gravely concerned that the bill goes much further than this as it would proscribe all forms of corporal punishment, humilating or not, including those done within the confines of the family home. I do not share such an overly sweeping condemnation of the practice.
On the contrary, I am of the firm conviction that responsible parents can and have administered corporal punishment in a self-restrained manner, such that the children remember it not as an act of hate or abuse, but a loving act of discipline that desires only to uphold their welfare. Such manner of undertaking corporal punishment has given rise to beneficial results for society, with countless children having been raised up to become law-abiding citizens with a healthy respect for authority structures in the wider community.
Regretably, this bill places such responsible disciplining of children in the same category as humilating and degrading forms of punishment, and condemns them all in one broad stroke. Making no distinctions, the bill would allow government to extend its reach into the privacy of the family, authorizing measures aimed at suppressing corporal punishment regardless of how carefully it is practiced. In so doing, the bill transgresses the proper bounderies of State intervention in the life of the family, the sancity and autonomy of which is recognized by the Constitution.
I am aware that there is a growing trend, prevalent in Western nations, that sees all forms of corporal punishment as an outdated form of disciplining children. I strongly believe that we should resist this trend in favor of a more balanced and nuanced approach, one that is both protective of the child as well as cognizant of the prerogatives of devoted parents who believe in the merits of corporal punishment, rightly administered. The cultural trends of other countries are not necessarily healthy for our own nation. Indeed, in many instances such trends are of doubtful benefit even for the very countries which originated and popularized them. To uncritically follow the lead of these countries, especially in matters as significant as the family, would be a great disservice to the succeeding generations.
For these reasons, I hereby veto SB No. 1477/HB No. 4239.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte