Padilla floats community service for poor parents under social media ban

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Robin Padilla on Monday floated the idea of imposing community service, such as sweeping the streets of Quezon City, on poor parents once the proposed social media ban for children below 16 years old becomes law.

Padilla, chairman of the Senate committee on public information, was defending Senate Bill No. 2424 on the Senate floor when Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III asked about the penalties for parents of those found violating the proposed law.

READ: Senate panel endorses bill setting 16 as minimum age for social media

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“Hindi po ba dapat i-increase natin yung penalty for parents? Nakikita ko rito penalty, P5,000. Baka tawanan lang tayo ng mga magulang pagka ang mga penalty natin ay P5,000, but not more than P50,000,” Sotto said.

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(Shouldn’t we increase the penalty for parents? I see here that the penalty is P5,000. Parents might just laugh at us if the penalty is only P5,000, but not more than P50,000.)

“Baka pwede po nating pag-aralan. Eh kung papayag po kayo sa period of amendments magpo-propose po ako ng mas mabigat-bigat nang konti sa bulsang penalty sa mga magulang para matakot,” he added.

(Perhaps we could study this further. If you agree, during the period of amendments, I can propose a slightly heavier penalty for parents so that it would serve as a deterrent.)

Padilla quickly agreed with the suggestion.

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“Opo, napakaganda po nyang mga inyo pong suhestyon,” he said. “Maaari lang po natin sigurong bigyan ng katumbas na community service. Halimbawa po kung mahirap po yung magulang, pantayan po natin ng community service. Pagwalisin po natin ng buong Quezon City, mga ganun po.”

(Yes, that is a very good suggestion,” he said. “Perhaps we could provide for an equivalent community service. For example, if the parent is poor and cannot afford the penalty, we could impose community service instead. We could have them sweep and clean the streets throughout Quezon City, something along those lines.)

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Sotto chuckled and said: “Baka abutin ng isang taon yan.”

That might take a year.)

Aside from a fine of not less than P5,000 but not more than P50,000, parents and guardians of social media ban violators would also be required to attend digital parenting and child online safety programs, as provided for in the bill.

“No penalty shall be imposed on parents or guardians for mere failure of supervision absent proof of willful intent or gross negligence,” it further reads.

Meanwhile, a fine of up to P20 million per violation awaits any social media platform or third-party age assurance provider found to be in violation of the proposed measure.

The amount is on top of a daily fine of up to P100,000 “for continuing violations until full compliance is achieved” or possible “suspension, restriction, or revocation of operations, permits, or access within the Philippines for repeated, willful, or gross violations, subject to due process.”

Even those figures were small compared with the $18 billion that Meta was ordered to pay in the United States, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian pointed out.

“Kaya po yung penalty na sinasabi ng ating former Senate President na P1 million, parang ano lang ito, walang masyadong epekto sa kanila dahil billion dollars po ang pinag-uusapan sa America,” Gatchalian said.

(That’s why the P1 million penalty being proposed by our former Senate President may not have much of an impact on them, considering that we are talking about billions of dollars in the United States.)

Under the bill, no child below 16 years old should “register for, access, use, maintain, operate and create on any age-restricted social media platform.”

Access may only be permitted for legitimate educational purposes and if certified by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education or Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Children aged 16 to 18, on the other hand, may access and use age-restricted social media platforms subject to age assurance requirements and child safety measures established under the bill.

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In the House of Representatives, a prohibition on the use of social media is being sought for children below 13 years old, while restrictions are being proposed for those aged 13 to 18. /mcm