Important bills to address children’s issues may be passed this Congress, says “Bata Muna”

Manila – As the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) officially completed the proclamation of the 12 senators who topped the May 12 National Elections, children and children advocates of “Bata Muna: Bumoto para sa Kapakanan ng mga Bata” are hopeful that the 3 winning senators out of the 5 who met them during the series of pre-election senatorial dialogues last month will uphold their promises and give priority to bills that are crucial to children’s rights and welfare in the 16^th Congress.

According to “Bata Muna” campaigners the three senators-elect Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III gave reassuring responses when the children presented their agenda—which is a mix of policy and program issues both on the national and local level – during the dialogues.

Various issues that concern health and nutrition, children’s participation in governance, education and child abuse were presented by the children and the advocates.

“The result of the children’s dialogues with the senatorial candidates back then proved to be promising,” said Deborah Carmina Sarmiento, Policy Advocacy Manager of Save the Children in the Philippines.  “We are thankful that the three senators prioritized us in their schedules and spent time to listen to the children as they expressed their concerns.”

“This has given us a ray of hope that the bills that we have been pushing for will finally see the light of day,” Sarmiento added.  “We are looking forward to working with them in terms of pushing for bills that are important to children.”

During the series of dialogues, all three stood against child abuse and promised support on a bill that will ban corporal punishment among children. With their responses, hope springs anew among the “Bata Muna” campaigners as they anticipate the passing of the proposed Anti-Corporal Punishment (ACoP) Bill. 

“Lamentably, the ACoP Bill is still pending in the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano while its counterpart version in the House of Representatives was passed in the 15^th Congress,” explained Sarmiento.

“We saw new hope when Sen. Pimentel expressed openness in collaborating with us on measures that will prohibit corporal punishment. And it is good news that he is also willing to work on inclusive education for children with disabilities,” added Sarmiento. 

While all three believed that education is the key to development, they laid different ways in addressing education vis-à-vis poverty.

Sen. Aquino stressed on the importance of providing world class quality of education, employment opportunities and entrepreneurship to young people while Sen. Escudero viewed education as a way for a poor child to get out of the cycle of poverty. Sen. Pimentel on the other hand said that he will focus on establishing a culture of science so that the country can produce inventions of high scientific value that will gain global recognition and eventually find a lucrative market. 

But nonetheless, the three shared that they are looking at a system of education that will provide the opportunity for children to become producers and entrepreneurs and not just workers and consumers of goods.

When asked about their stand on the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), Senators Escudero and Aquino expressed the need to reform SK so it will not only serve as a vehicle for children’s participation in governance but also to make it an effective platform of governance that will address children’s issues.

“Sen. Escudero for instance noted that there can be zero backlogs in classrooms for the entire country in three years if the PhP28 billion SK fund is used for this purpose,” said Sarmiento. 

On the issue of health and nutrition, “Bata Muna” saw the need to continue reaching out to lawmakers especially on the issue of chronic malnutrition and breastfeeding to address the high rate of stunting among children. Sen. Aquino, for one, promised that once elected, he will continue engaging with “Bata Muna” advocates and other stakeholders so that the issue of stunting among children will be addressed.

“Bata Muna” campaigners vowed that they will continue engaging with these three senators and with other senators as well and provide technical support if needed so that bills important to children will see movement in the Senate. They will also expand their reach to the House of Representatives and to local officials.

“We are still hoping that the senators who did not dialogue with us have genuine concern for children and their issues and that this time around since they are no longer focused on getting a seat in the Senate, they will finally have time to talk and listen to the children,” she added.

“Bata Muna” campaigners are hoping that lawmakers in the 16^th Congress will finally use a child rights ‘lens’ and put children at the heart of their discussions on laws, budget and programs. After all, the welfare of the nation depends on the state of children. 

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Bata Muna is a nationwide campaign aimed at advancing children’s issues in the heart of electoral discussions in the 2013 National Elections. It is jointly organized by Save the Children,  Samahan ng Mamamayan – Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO), Children Talk to Children (C2C) about the UN CRC Project children’s organizations AKKAP, AYM, CYO and YMETCO, Plan International, Asia ACTs, WomanHealth Philippines, ChildFund,Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), Caraga Emergency Response Group (CERG), Mindanao Action Group for Children’s Rights and Protection (MAGCRP), Mindanao Emergency Response Network (MERN), World Vision, Intervida Philippines Foundation (Intervida), Cebu Court Appointed Special Advocates /Guardian Ad Litem (CASA/GAL)Volunteers Association Inc., Inclusive Education Network Chapter (IEN), Philippines Against Child Trafficking (PACT), Lingap Pangkabataan Inc., Angels of Peace Academy Foundation Inc., Open Heart Foundation, NGO Coalition, ERDA, ChildHope Asia Philippines, Reina Federation, Families and Children for Empowerment and Development (FCED) Foundation Inc., and Yakap sa Kaunlaran ng Bata Inc.