Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has addressed misconceptions surrounding Senate Bill No. 396, the proposed Parents Welfare Act of 2025, which aims to ensure support for elderly or incapacitated parents from their children.
Lacson clarified that the bill does not obligate children to support parents who abused, abandoned, or neglected them.
“Abuse, abandonment or neglect by parents of their children are exempting circumstances. Under the proposed measure, walang obligasyon ang anak na magsuporta sa magulang na nang-abuso, nag-abandon at nagpabaya sa kanya,” he said, citing Section 16 of the bill, which allows the court to dismiss or reduce support if such behavior is proven.
The proposed law covers senior citizens, the sick, or permanently incapacitated parents who cannot support themselves. However, children with no financial capacity are also not required to provide support.
Lacson noted that existing laws like the Family Code already mandate mutual family support and that his bill complements protections under laws like the Violence Against Women and Children Act.
He also stressed that the measure does not shift the burden entirely to families. The bill includes the establishment of Old Age Homes in every province and highly urbanized city, each with a minimum capacity of 50 elderly individuals.
“(Taking care of the elderly members of society) is a shared responsibility of government and the children of said elderly. The care for the aged is neither an exclusively private matter to be left to the family nor an exclusively public concern best left to the government,” the senator said.IMT
