MANILA (UCAN): The San Lorenzo Ruiz Youth Group in the Philippines, expressed concerns over the National Curfew Act, a bill seeking a night curfew purportedly aimed at protecting children. It termed the draft law “disturbing.”
Lawmaker, Bernadette Herrera-Dy, who proposed the bill, claimed that it aimed to curb the increasing crimes in the country.
In a statement on August 7, the youth group said, “The Philippines not [only] saw but experienced what happened during curfew hours during the martial law period… Curfew hours were set not to discipline but to mask the anonymity of human rights violators during the Marcos regime.”
The group pointed out that setting curfews was part of a pattern during the dictatorship of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father of the current president.
“The nine-year military rule ordered by then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 unleashed a wave of crimes under international law and grave human rights violations, including tens of thousands of people arbitrarily arrested and detained, and thousands of others tortured, forcibly disappeared, and killed. Most of these illegal acts happened at night when there were no witnesses,” the group added.
Why do we need another law to regulate our actions by setting a curfew every evening? We have enough laws already to prevent crimes
The group noted that Amnesty International recorded the arrest and jailing of 50,000 people from 1972 to 1975 including Church workers, human rights defenders, legal aid lawyers, labour leaders and journalists,
The curfew bill seeks to prohibit children from being outside their homes between 10.00pm and 5.00am “not only as a means of maintaining public order and safety and preventing the further rise in criminality but also in order to protect minors from a potential threat that may arise in the remote environment which may be harmful or detrimental to their development” Herrera-Dy told reporters on August 7.
She insisted that there were exceptions to the proposed law such as when the minor is with parents or a guardian during curfew hours, or if there is an emergency.
“Of course, there will be exceptions for going out beyond 10 in the evening. School activities, religious activities, or other community or even family-related activities as long as they are legitimate, these are exceptions,” the lawmaker added.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
“What we are promoting here is the safety of everybody by prohibiting bystanders outside their house late at night because that is the time they begin to engage in illegal activities such as selling and or taking illegal drugs,” she said,
Jose de la Rama, the spokesperson of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Youth Group, said the reasoning was unconvincing.
“Why do we need another law to regulate our actions by setting a curfew every evening? We have enough laws already to prevent crimes,” Rama said.
