Parents Welfare Act 2025 Excludes Abusive Parents
MANILA, Philippines — The proposed Parents Welfare Act of 2025 clearly excludes parents who have abused, hurt, or neglected their children from receiving support under the law. This clarification addresses misunderstandings about the measure, explained Senator Panfilo Lacson, the author of Senate Bill 396.
The four-word keyphrase “Parents Welfare Act 2025” appears early as Lacson emphasized that the bill aims to provide support to parents who are in genuine need, such as senior citizens or those with permanent disabilities, but not to those who have mistreated their children.
Support Obligations and Exceptions Explained
“Abuse, abandonment, or neglect by parents of their children are exempting circumstances,” Lacson stated. “Under the proposed measure, the child has no obligation to support parents who abused, abandoned, or neglected him/her.”
Some critics voiced concerns that the bill overlooks parents who are financially unable to support themselves or those who have suffered abuse. However, Lacson clarified that the measure intends to help parents who cannot care for themselves due to age or illness, but only if they have not harmed their children.
Court’s Role in Determining Support
Section 16 of the bill empowers courts to dismiss or reduce support claims if it is proven that the parent in need had abandoned, abused, or neglected the child. This legal safeguard prevents misuse of the law by those unworthy of support.
Lacson also referenced Article 195 of the Family Code, which establishes the mutual obligation of family members to support each other. Nonetheless, the bill explicitly exempts children who lack the financial capacity to provide support.
Shared Responsibility Between Family and Government
The senator stressed that the bill does not shift the entire burden of caring for elderly parents onto their children. Instead, “taking care of the elderly members of society is a shared responsibility of government and the children of said elderly. The care for the aged is neither an exclusively private matter to be left to the family nor an exclusively public concern best left to the government,” he explained.
This balanced approach recognizes the role both families and government agencies play in ensuring the welfare of senior citizens.
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