The City Social Welfare and Development Office is up to the task of wider dissemination of the Anti-child marriage law with the anticipated release of its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
Republic Act No. 11596, also known as âAn Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage and Imposing Penalties for Violations Thereofâ was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 10, 2021 and was publicly released by Malacanang on Jan. 6, 2022. Its IRR has been signed by DSWD and various agencies on December 2022 but its official signed copy has not been published yet.
Lawyer Marlisa Gallo, CSWDO head, in an interview over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday, said that with this law, those who cause and fix or arrange a child marriage, those who perform or officiate a child marriage, and an adult partner who cohabits with a child out of wedlock are to be penalized.
Based on the said law any person who arranges the marriage of a minor can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and subject to paying a fine of not less than â±40,000.
If the violator is found to be a parent or guardian, the penalty increases to up to 12 years of imprisonment and they will be subject to pay a fine of not less than Php 50,000.
The same penalty applies to anybody who officiates a child marriage.
An adult partner who cohabits with a child outside wedlock will have the same penalty as a parent or guardian violator, and if he or she is an public officer, he or she will be dismissed from service and may be perpetually disqualified from holding office at the discretion of the courts.
Child marriage, according to the law refers to a marriage entered into – where one or both parties are children and are solemnized in any recognized traditional, cultural, or customary manner. It shall include an informal union or cohabitation of wedlock between an adult or child or between children.
Gallo said that what this law protects is the emotional and health wellness of children who are introduced prematurely to married life.
“Kung ipakasal ang bata, dili pa siya ready emotionally, ang iyahang lawas dili pa gyud siya ready. Duna ni’y effect sa panlawas sa babae (If children get married early, they are not yet emotionally ready. Their body is also not ready, and this affects the health of female girls),” Gallo said.
She added that the CSWDO will help orient the cultural groups that practice child marriage so they could understand the law.
“Kini dapat tutukan sa CSWDO pagpasabot sa ground. There is a health aspect and taas pani nga proseso because it involves culture and pag muingon ka og kultura lisod gyud na siya usabon (This should be focused upon by the CSWDO for wider dissemination on the ground. There is a health aspect and this is still a long process because it involves culture and if you say culture it cannot be easily changed),” she said.
The CSWDO has already conducted a symposium for concerned indigenous groups initially in November and another one set this January to popularize the said law. CIO
