Manila: The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality: convened to review three legislative bills focused on enhancing the protection of women and children in the domains of tourism, healthcare, and law enforcement.
According to Philippines News Agency, the public hearing was led by Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros and focused on Senate Bill No. 2971, known as the Child Tourist Safety Act (Sandy's Act); SB 2401, the Women and Children Protection Units (WCPU) Act; and SB 2256, the Philippine Amber Alert Act. Hontiveros, who introduced SB 2971, highlighted the significance of ensuring child safety within the tourism sector, emphasizing the increasing risks faced by young tourists in the country's popular destinations.
The Child Tourist Safety Act, named after six-year-old Sandy Garovillas who tragically died from a jellyfish sting due to the lack of immediate medical assistance, aims to address these safety concerns. The legislation seeks to ensure that tourist destinations are equipped with adequate medical and emergency services, as well as essential life-saving equipment and facilities. Sandy's parents, Edward and Sarah Garovillas, attended the hearing to share their daughter's story, underscoring the bill's importance.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicates that in 2021, 1,056 out of 3,604 drowning deaths involved children aged one to 14, marking it as the second leading cause of death among children aged five to nine. Additional hazards such as animal bites, spinal injuries, and infectious diseases pose further threats to traveling families. Under Sandy's Act, tourism-related businesses would be mandated to provide emergency medical access, deploy trained lifeguards, and uphold safety equipment standards. Non-compliance could lead to fines, imprisonment, or revocation of business permits in cases of negligence resulting in injury or death.
Senator Loren Legarda, who authored the WCPU Act, aims to institutionalize specialized protection units within all government hospitals. These units would be staffed by trained professionals offering medical, psychological, and legal support for abuse victims. Legarda referenced alarming statistics from the Council for the Welfare of Children, which reported 8,948 child abuse cases in 2022, with 72 percent involving sexual abuse or assault.
Separately, the Philippine Amber Alert Act, introduced by Senator Mark Villar, proposes the creation of an emergency alert system for missing children. This system, inspired by similar models in the United States, would disseminate urgent information via television, radio, and digital platforms in cases of suspected abduction. The bill includes penalties for the false activation of an Amber Alert or for providing misleading information, with fines reaching up to PHP1 million.
The hearing also addressed issues related to law enforcement coordination, emergency response preparedness, and funding for the proposed legislative measures.
