Claiming the best interest of the child is not an excuse to humiliate, belittle, or threaten the child, according to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Second Division made the pronouncement in a decision that found spouses liable for damages for publicly humiliating, harassing and degrading their son’s 14-year-old girlfriend.
“The best interest of a child cannot justify forms of cruel or degrading punishment which conflict with a child’s human dignity, including ‘punishment which belittles, humiliates, denigrates, scapegoats, threatens, scares, or ridicules a child,’” it said in its April 26, 2023 ruling.
It affirmed the findings of the regional trial court and of the Court of Appeals on the liability of the spouses for their actions toward their son’s girlfriend, which had exposed her to public ridicule that caused her “mental anguish, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, and social humiliation.”
“Here, publicly calling an impressionable 14-year-old with defamatory words such as ‘makati ang laman,’ malandi,’ and ‘hindi matino’ in front of her peers, teachers, and parents is undoubtedly a harsh, degrading, and humiliating experience to which no child should ever be subjected,” it said.
This action is contrary to the constitutional mandate to defend the right of children, and public policies to protect their best interest through measures complying with international standards on children’s protection, it said.
While parents and legal guardians have the right to provide direction to a child, a child must still be accorded equal and inalienable rights “consistent with the evolving capacities of the child,” it said.
Evolving capacities should not be seen as an excuse for authoritarian practices, but as a “positive and enabling process,” it added.
But in this case, the Supreme Court said the parents of the boyfriend could not justify their abusive acts under the pretext of exercising parental authority over their son’s 14-year-old girlfriend, as they are not her parents or guardians.
“In any case, resorting to harsh and degrading methods of discipline cannot be countenanced by this Court as it is contrary to public policy,” it added.
The Supreme Court ordered the liable spouses to pay P30,000 in moral damages, P20,000 in exemplary damages, and P30,000 in attorney’s fees and litigation expenses, with legal interest of six percent per annum.
Source: https://abogado.com.ph/sc-says-best-interest-of-a-child-cant-justify-cruel-humiliating-punishment/
Oh My Kwento!!!! 