By Gabriel Bernales
In a country where family is everything, it’s ironic how each generation tends to treat their children as a retirement plan, planting seeds of guilt and resentment that last a lifetime.
This is where the Parents Welfare Act, a proposed bill by Senator Ping Lacson, enters the scene. On the surface, it appears to be a strong initiative, a legislative attempt to encourage children to support their aging parents. But beneath that surface lies a slippery slope of complications, one that could potentially do more harm than good.
No law can mandate love. It demands compliance, not compassion. The risk here is reducing the parent-child relationship to a transactional arrangement monitored by the state. It assumes that all families are functional and loving, but ignores the deep complexities and emotional scars many children carry.
Not all parents are nurturing or compassionate. Some are abusive or neglectful. This bill could burden children by legally obligating them to financially support those who may have caused them lasting torment.
Furthermore, working-class Filipinos are already struggling to make ends meet in the midst of an ongoing economic crisis. Imposing a legal obligation to support parents could further strain already fragile family dynamics.
Let’s also consider our deep-rooted Filipino values. Most children care for their parents out of love, not obligation. The real issue isn’t a lack of will but it’s a lack of means. Perhaps the government should shift its focus toward improving social pensions, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities for the elderly, measures that support families without sowing resentment or hardship.
The intention behind the bill is noble and well-meaning. But its execution risks crossing a delicate boundary. We can encourage responsibility and dignity for aging parents through better systems and reforms not coercion.
Because love comes from the heart not from obligation.
