Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE)
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced t by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL

AN ACT
CREATING PROGRAMS FOR INCARCERATED PARENTS.
AND THEIR CHILDREN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) are forced to leave their children during the
time that they are in detention or commitment. As result, most of the children of those
in Philippine jails and detention facilities are deprived of much of the basic needs for
their physical, mental, moral, and psychological growth and development. Our
country lacks mechanisms and facilities for detained and committed parents to still
enjoy their parental rights, and for the needs of their children to be attended to. Prison
walls and jail bars must never negate the best interests of the child, even as their
mother or father is still innocent in the eyes of the law, and even when the latter is
already sentenced.

This need to care for incarcerated parents and their children is made more
obvious and dire in the case of mothers, especially those who are expecting or nursing,
and solo parents who oftentimes have no relatives to whom the rearing of their
children could be entrusted

The Philippine government has obligations under several international law
instruments on the rights of the child, women’s rights, and cruel and inhumane
punishment to name a few, to prevent the suffering of parents in jail and their children.
Take the cases of Reina Mae Nasino and baby River, and Amanda Echanis and baby



Randall Emmanuel. Both mothers are political prisoners arrested and now suffering
under fabricated charges, Brought by the insufficient prenatal and post-natal care and
the stress caused to Nasino throughout her pregnancy and childbirth, baby River
contracted pneumonia then died at three months old. The court and elements of the
Philippine National Police denied Nasino the right to mourn her daughter in peace,
granting her just a total of six hours to go to her daughter’s wake and making her
attend the funeral in handcuffs, closely surrounded by a score of police officers. A
case has also been filed in the Ombudsman in relation to the “hijacking” of baby
River’s remains by police forces. All these, at a time when the COVID-19 is raging.

Echanis, herself a child of incarcerated parents when both her parents became
political prisoners in the 1990s, was recently arrested with her newborn son, Randall
Emmanuel. As planted arms and explosives assured a non-bailable—yet
trumped-up—charge against her, she is now faced with the choice of nursing her
newborn in detention or being separated from him, totally unable to nurse him.

It should be noted, however, that Echanis herself was allowed to stay with her
mother, Linda Lacaba Echanis, and also her father, slain Anakpawis leader and
National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Randall Echanis, when
both were arrested in August 1990. Government and custodial authorities consented
for humanitarian reasons to Amanda's confinement at Camp Crame in the political
prisoner's wing so that Linda could continue breastfeeding Amanda who was | year
and 10 months old, which was still short of the two-year minimum period set by WHO
guidelines for breastfeeding for survival. Both Linda and Amanda stayed in Camp
Crame until Linda was released after six months. In effect, this establishes a
humanitarian as well as instructive precedence for the protection of babies of
incarcerated mothers.

“Just and humanitarian considerations” should be enough to accord these
mothers, and other parents in jail, and their children the rights to a family, and the love
and nurturing of a family. However, current institutions do not.

This proposed bill aims to establish mechanisms that shall assist imprisoned
parents, especially mothers and solo parents, in the performance of their parental and
child-rearing obligations particularly during the carly and formative years of the child.

This bill was originally filed in the 18° Congress by Senator Maria Lourdes
Nancy S. Binay, as well as Representative Myra Salvador-Tambunting, Representative
Manuel Cabochan and the Party-List Representatives of the Makabayang Koalisyon
ng mga Mamamayan (Makabayan).


Approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

EL, CASTRO
eachersParty-Li st

sr [Bibtpd

(Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS Rep. RAGUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL.
GABRIELA Women's Party KABATAAN Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No,_970

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL

AN ACT
CREATING PROGRAMS FOR INCARCERATED PARENTS,
AND THEIR CHILDREN

Be it enacted in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1, Title. - This Act shall be known as “Parents in Jail Act of 2022.”
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the State that:

(1) The State shall defend the rights of children to special protection from all
forms of neglect and other conditions prejudicial to their development;

(2) The State recognizes that all persons deprived of their liberty shall be
treated humanely and shall enjoy all the rights guaranteed to free persons, subject to
the restrictions that are unavoidable in a closed environment;

(3) The State shall promote stable and solid relationships between children and
parents, who are their primary care-givers and support incarcerated parents to develop
and maintain their relationship with their children;

The State shall assure the right of the child to express his or her views freely in
all matters affecting them, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance
with their age and maturity.


SEC. 3. Apprising Incarcerated Parents of Their Parental Rights, — In cases
involving incarcerated parents, the court must give an appropriate warning of the
special consequences concerning the parental rights of the accused that may result
from a plea of guilty or conviction, especially the loss of parental authority.

SEC. 4. Placement and Guardianship Options. — After arraignment and upon plea of
guilty, the court shall inquire from the accused if the latter has any minor children and
in whose custody the minor children arc. In the event that the accused has minor
children, the court shall mot proprio direct a social worker or a representative of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development to confer with the accused to discuss
various options available to the latter, in relation to the care and custody of their minor
children, A compliance report, duly signed by the accused, shall thereafter be
submitted to the court, attesting that options have been discussed and the selected
option, if any.

Should the accused be unable to place their minor children under the care of a
responsible adult, the minor children shall be placed under the care of the following

persons, in the order indicated:

1. surviving grandparent;

2. oldest brother or sister, over twenty-one (21) years of age, unless unfit or
disqualified;
3. any collateral relative of the accused, over twenty-one (21) years of age,

and within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of the minor children:
and
4. the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

SEC. 5. Coordinating Body. — A coordinating body comprised of representatives
from the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Corrections, the Department of Social
Welfare and Development, and the Department of Health shall be established. for
purposes of implementing the provisions of this Act.

Such body shall:

a. formulate the nec
implementation of this Act;

b. provide for specific procedures for the placement of children of the
accused or for infants born to women already incarcerated in state prisons; and

ary rules and regulations for the effective

c. establish programs designed to provide counseling, health and other
social services to the incarcerated parents and their children. Access of mothers,
including those who are expecting and nursing, and children to health care services
and medicines, including reproductive health care and medical attention,


gynecological and pediatric services shall be assured by the institution where parent
and child are detained. For this purpose, all jails and detention facilities shall comply
with the mandates of Republic Act 11148 or the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng
Mag-Nanay Act” and other relevant laws. The use of restraints on pregnant women
and women who have just given birth is hereby declared as torture and cruel and
degrading punishment.

SEC. 6. Child-Friendly Visitation Programs, — The prison facilities shall establish
child-friendly visitation opportunitics for solo parents and children. A. special
visitation room for solo parents and children shall be provided for this purpose.

SEC. 7. Independent Monitoring. — Frequent access to prisons shall be granted to
relevant institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights, non-governmental
human rights organizations, and international organizations. Persons conducting
monitoring tasks shall be allowed to make periodic and unannounced visits to the
premises and speak in private with imprisoned solo parents and their children

SEC. 8. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this,
Act is hereby authorized to be appropriated in the budget of the Department of Social
Welfare and Development and included in the General Appropriations Act of the year
following the enactment of this law and every year thereafter.

SEC. 9. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provisions of this Act is declared
void and unconstitutional, the remaining portions or provisions hereof shall not be
affected by such declaration.

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, other
issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 11. Effectivity Clause. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,