Bill seeks to penalize parents of wayward kids

Teenagers and children would be kept off the streets during late hours under a nationwide curfew bill pending approval by the House of Representatives.

The House committee on welfare of children approved last week a substitute bill mandating curfew for minors 18 years old and below to prevent them “from becoming vulnerable to the negative influences of street life.”

Under the proposed “Unsafe Hours for Children Act,” the curfew would be in effect during “unsafe hours” and in “public places” from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Many cities in the Philippines already impose curfews on minors, but the House bill would make it a national policy.

Besides keeping the youth safe, the bill “intends to reduce the opportunities when children can be used as instruments of crime.”

The bill would penalize parents, or legal guardians, who “knowingly or by insufficient control” allow their children to “loiter, roam, meander or sleep” in public places from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. “without lawful purpose or justifiable reason.”

Fine of up to P1,000 or community service for five to 10 days, or both, shall be imposed on parents or guardians of children who violate the curfew for the third and succeeding offenses.