A bill seeking to penalize parents who don't give child support has been submitted in Congress.
The bill, which was submitted by Manila Rep. Rosenda Ann Ocampo is known as House Bill 6079.
According to the bill, legal child support is the amount that is supposed to be paid to the custodial parent by the other parent. This is to finance the needs of the child or children left in a legal separation.
The amount is set by a court order or agreed upon by both mother and father which is then approved by the court.
This amount is usually set during legal separation proceedings.
What you need to know about HB 6079
Here’s what the law requires:
- The parent who was not awarded custodial rights or obliged parent must remit the required amount of child support to the custodial parent on a regular basis.
- If the obliged parent does not follow the court order terms for remitting child support, he or she can be fined Php25,000 and sent to jail for no less than six months but no more than one year.
- The unpaid child support remittances have to be paid in a lump sum as well.
- Repeat offenders can be penalized and fined Php50,000 and sentenced to prison for no less than one year but no more than two.
When can the other parent be penalized?
- If the obliged parent does not remit any amount within six months without a court-accepted reason.
- If the obliged parent’s missed child support remittances value more than Php30,000 without a justifiable cause.
- If the obliged parent fails to give the adequate amount of child support amounting to Php30,000 or for one year.
No way to penalize parents who don't give child support right now
Under current laws, the custodial parent can only have the court cite the missed or inadequate payments. Nothing penalizes the obliged parent who does not give the right amount on time. This means that they can just ignore the court citation.
According to Rep. Ocampo, “Apart from the emotional trauma, the parent who has custody of the child is left with the difficult task of single-handedly raising the child or children. Hence, the welfare of the child is compromised, especially when the custodial parent does not have the means to sustain the needs of the child.”
HB 6079 is now sitting with the Committee on Welfare and Children. The committee is headed by Zamboanga Del Sur Rep. Aurora Enerio Cerilles.
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Also read: How can moms claim child support in the Philippines?
