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Excessive parental disciplinary measures may constitute child abuse

Dear PAO,

My ex-partner Jhon and I agreed to live separately after concluding that our differences were irreconcilable. As a result, he moved into his mother's house while I stayed with my parents. We also agreed he would take custody of our two minor children while I looked for a permanent job. One day, my children came to me crying and trembling. They claimed that their father repeatedly and excessively hurt and cursed them on different occasions. I confronted Jhon and threatened him with a child abuse case. While he admitted to laying hands on our children, he argued that it was part of his right as a father to instill discipline. Is he correct?

Anabelle

Dear Anabelle,

While Article 220 (8) of Executive Order 209, otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines, grants parents the rights and duties «to impose discipline» on their children as may be required by circumstances, excessive, violent, and disproportionate disciplinary actions may constitute child abuse. This is especially true if it can be inferred from the circumstances that the offender had the specific intent to debase, degrade, or demean the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being.

This finds support in the recent decision of the Supreme Court in XXX v. People, GR 268457, July 22, 2024, penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, which held:

«x x x when the infliction of physical injuries against a minor is done at the spur of the moment or intended to discipline or correct the wrongful behavior of the child, it is imperative that the specific intent to debase, degrade, or demean the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human be established. In the absence of this specific intent, the offender cannot be held liable for child abuse but only for other crimes punishable under the RPC, provided that all the elements of the latter are present.

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»In this regard, to determine the presence or absence of this specific intent, this Court may consider the circumstances of the case and the manner by which the offender committed the act complained of, as when the offender's use of force against the child was calculated, violent, excessive, or done without any

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