MANILA -- The House Committee on Welfare of Children on Monday approved a bill seeking to impose stiffer penalties for child abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

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The bill would amend Republic Act 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”

The bill imposes the following stiffer penalties:

1) life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million for crimes on child prostitution and other sexual abuse

2) life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million for obscene publications and indecent shows involving children

3) imprisonment of up to four years and two months and a fine of P50,000 to P100,000 for all forms of discrimination against children of indigenous cultural communities

The panel also consolidated House Bills 1269 and 8306, authored by Rep. Bernadette “BH” Herrera (Party-list, BH) and Committee Chair Rep. Angelica Natasha Co, respectively, seeking to promote positive and nonviolent discipline, protecting children from physical, humiliating, or degrading acts as a form of punishment.

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"We had a productive and detailed threshing out of the child abuse issues leading to the approval for consolidation of the two bills on positive discipline of children and positive parenting. The House Committee on the Welfare of Children was united against child abuse, and we reached a consensus on applying the child abuse definition in Republic Act 7610," Co said in a statement.

“Klaro sa mga sinabi ng ating mga kasamahan sa komite na kahit magulang ka man, kapag child abuse na ang ginagawa mo sa bata, child abuse talaga iyan at hindi maaaring gamiting palusot na kesyo dinidisiplina lamang ang bata,” Herrera said.

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