MANILA, Philippines — A multisectoral coalition of children and women’s advocates has petitioned sought Congress to pass a law that would end child marriage in the Philippines, a practice still prevalent in the Bangsamoro region.
On Tuesday, Child Rights Network, Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), Plan International Philippines, and the nationwide multisectoral coalition #GirlDefenders Alliance launched an online petition asking Congress to pass a law that will repeal all other laws, decrees, executive orders, issuances, rules and regulations that legally allow the practice of child marriage.
The petition has been signed by over a hundred organizations and coalitions, government agencies and officials, and other concerned advocates from civil society.
The online campaign precedes an upcoming hearing by the House committee on women and gender equality on May 19, also the first-ever hearing on pending bills seeking to end child marriages.
While the legal marrying age for Filipinos is 18, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws or Section 1, Article 16, of Presidential No. 1083 allows marriage at the age of puberty or at the onset of first menstruation.