On Dec. 10, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law (Republic Act no. 11596), which prohibited marrying a child under the age of 18, to end the abuse and trauma of adolescent Filipinas. However, child marriage in the Philippines still persists today.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Law

Prior to the Philippines’ enactment of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law on Jan. 6, 2022, child marriage was a common practice in the Philippines. This placed young girls in danger of sexual violence and childbirth. According to a 2017 report by the Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey, one out of six Filipinas under the age of 18 were married.

In 2017, the recorded rate of child marriages in the Philippines was more than 16%. Since the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law, the rate had gone down to 9.4% in 2022. While there has been a substantial decrease, child marriage has not been completely eradicated.

The Issue

While the Philippines has raised the legal age of consent to 18 years old, some in the country continue to justify the marriage of children in a religious or cultural context. Despite the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law, there exists an exception to it: Presidential Decree No. 1083. The Code of Muslim Personal Laws, which President Ferdinand Marcos enacted, allows for the marriage of girls as young as 15 to marry. 

This is especially prevalent in the large Muslim population of Mindanao. A 2021 study that the Bangsamoro Women Commission conducted recorded around 88,600 child brides in the local region. Other highly affected areas are Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Why Is It Happening?

• Patriarchal norms within Filipino households are common. They result in the limiting of women’s autonomy as society teaches them to be wives and obedient to their husbands.
• Weak law enforcement in the Philippines results in the failure to impose the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law. Additionally, issues are resolved in an inconsistent and informal manner. 
• Religious and cultural traditions, specifically Islamic teachings, believe that premarital relationships outside of marriage are haram acts, resulting in followers adhering to religious standards, like forced marriages, to maintain family honor. Some argue that a female is prepared to be wed once she has reached puberty, which results in many child brides being around 15 years of age.
• The legal age of consent is 16 years old while the legal age to be wed is 18 years old in the Philippines. This may result in teen pregnancy which then leads to parents forcing marriage upon the child to avoid the social stigma of premarital relationships.
• Economic hardships can cause families to force their child into a marriage as they believe it to be their only escape to a better life. Mindanao has the highest population of child brides and is also the poorest region in the Philippines.

The allowance of early or forced marriage at such a young age makes the child more susceptible to experiencing poverty, domestic violence, maternal mortality and a multitude of adverse effects on emotional and physical health.

Enhancing the Protection of Children Against Early Marriage

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) presented a Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) framework to combat child marriage in 2024, which will apply to Muslim Mindanao.

The DWSD has been in charge of enforcing the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law since its implementation and provides services and resources to support and address the prevention of child marriages. The DWSD and CWC have collaborated with the intention of hindering child marriages and shifting cultural norms and attitudes in the Philippines. They have held workshops comprising not only parents and children but also community leaders to gather input in creating a CPSS to end marriages under 18 years old. CPSS will work to improve the implementation and enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law by adopting more laws and policies such as government offices, a child-protection workforce.

Those in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will offer their input through their involvement in these workshops as they assist in designing, testing and evaluating a CPSS. The presence of individuals who have first-hand knowledge of child marriage in the Philippines is paramount in developing a solution towards it.

Involving community leaders to learn about what they can do to protect children from early marriage is a key to ending it. Becoming aware of identifying, recognizing and preventing the abuse of children through the education of child protection laws and gender-based violence will supply leaders with the ability to provide children the support they need.

Looking Ahead

In the fight against child marriage in the Philippines, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law served to protect young Filipina girls from the patriarchal gender inequality that attempts to control women. But further work is needed to prevent the suffering of young girls in the Philippines forced into early marriage. They endure a lifetime of poverty, abuse and violence at the hands of a patriarchal system and harmful longtime traditions. 

By recognizing the detrimental behaviors and effects pertaining to child marriage with access to resources, young Filipinas will have the independence that they deserve.

– Caydie Tampac

Caydie is based in Reno, NV, USA and focuses on Good News and Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr