Senators approve final reading of bill declaring child marriage as illegal

Voting 21-0, Senators have unanimously approved on final reading a bill seeking to declare child marriage illegal in the Philippines.

On Monday, Senate Bill No. 1371, also known as the "Girls Not Brides Act," was passed on third reading. It was filed in March 2020 by Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.

Today, we give our girls a chance to dream, a chance to define their futures according to their own terms, we defend their right to declare when they are ready to begin a family,

Hontiveros said in a statement after the Senate approved the measure. 

We give them a fighting chance.

In the Philippines, there are an estimated 726,000 child brides, making the country the 12th highest in the world in terms of absolute numbers.

Twenty-one senators voted in favor of the bill. There were zero abstentions and negative votes.

Under SB 1373, any person who arranges, fixes, facilitates or officiates a child marriage will be fined P40, 000 or suffer jail for six years.

However, if the perpetrator is an ascendant, step parent or guardian of the minor, the penalty imposed should be 12 years imprisonment, a P50, 000 fine, and the loss of parental authority over the minor.

Meanwhile, individuals who perform or officiate the formal rites of child marriage shall suffer the penalty of prison mayor in its medium period and a fine of not less than P40,000. If they are public officers, they will also be perpetually disqualified from office.