j - 38 - Decision G.R. No. 227363 There are still a lot of abuses and injustices done to our children who suffer not only from strangers, but sadly, also in the hands of their parents and relatives. We know for a fact that the present law on the matter, the Child and Welfare Code (PD No. 603) has very little to offer to abuse children. We are aware of the numerous cases not reported in media. In the Filipino Family structure, a child is powerless; he or she is not supposed to be heard and seen. Usually, it is the father or the mother who has a say in family matters, and children, owing to their limited capability, are not consulted in most families. Many children may be suffering from emotional, physical and social abuses in their homes, but they cannot come out in the open; besides, there is a very thin line separating discipline from abuse. This becomes wider when the abuse becomes grave and severe. Perhaps, more lamentable than the continuing ·child abuses and exploitation is the seeming unimportance or the lack of interest in the way we have dealt with the said problem in the country. No less than the Supreme Court, in the recent case of People v. Ritter, held that we lack criminal laws which will adequately protect street children from exploitation of pedophiles. But as we know, we, at the Senate have not been remiss in our bounden duty to sponsor bills which will ensure the protection of street children from the tentacles of sexual exploitation. Mr. President, now is the time to convert these bills into reality. In our long quest for solutions to problems regarding children, which problems are deeply rooted in poverty, I have felt this grave need to sponsor a bill, together with Senators Lina and Mercado, which would ensure the children's protection from all forms of abuse and exploitation, to provide stiffer sanction for their commission and carry out programs for prevention and deterrence to aid crisis intervention in situations of child abuse and exploitation. Senate Bill No. 1209 translates into reality the provision of our 1987 Constitution on "THE FAMILY," and I quote: Sec. 3. The State shall defend: xx xx (2) The right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development. This is a specific provision peculiar to the Philippines. No other Constitution in the whole world contains this mandate. Keeping true to this mandate, Mr. President, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which has been drafted in the largest global summit, of which we have acceded, we should waste no time in passing this significant bill into law. This is a commitment; thus, we should not thrive on mere promises. We, the legislature of this country, must have that political will to transform this promise into a vibrant reality. /,/, /,7)1