"February 14 has traditionally been celebrated as a day of love. This bill seeks to expand the definition of love from more than just romance, into celebrating family love by declaring February 14 every year as a special working holiday to be known as 'National Family Day'", read House Bill no. 4845, authored by Cebu Representative Rodrigo A. Abellanosa.
Once passed into law, February 14 will be declared a special working holiday, while all government offices, academic institutions, and private entities will be encouraged to organize programs and activities that celebrate family values.
"A community comprised of families that are economically stable is also a community that is such. Hence, strengthening the family unit may well be the key to a stronger nation."
The author of the bill believes that "a community comprised of families that are economically stable is also a community that is such. Hence, strengthening the family unit may well be the key to a stronger nation."
Aside from paying tribute to the importance of families in communities, the bill also hopes to aid in managing the country's growing drug problem: "The drug menace has long thrived because the family environment has festered with misplaced values that have cultivated errant behavior."
"In that nation's current war against drugs, we see a staggering number of drug users and/or sellers coming out to seek help in resolving their drug dependence. Had they been given the opportunity in the past to be raised in a loving family that instills all the proper values in its children, they may have stood a huge chance against the drug menace," Abellanosa further said, reports GMA News. "There is no time more appropriate than now to begin curbing the problem not only by trimming the foliage but addressing it from the roots."
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