The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched the National Action Plan on Ending Child, Early, and Forced Marriage Unions (NAP-ECEFMU) on Friday, 12 December, to address the large number of married children under 18.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian cited the 2024 Situation Analysis of Children, which showed that 460,000 girls below the legal age of 18 were married or in forced unions in 2022. Of these, 73,000 were children under 15.

The department described NAP-ECEFMU as a “multi-year and first multi-sectoral framework” designed to strengthen Republic Act 11596, or An Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage and Imposing Penalties for Violations Thereof.

The law defines children as those under 18 and criminalizes any person who facilitates child marriage, as well as any adult who cohabitates with a child partner outside of wedlock. The DSWD is the lead agency assigned to implement the act and to “create programs that will address the prevalence of child marriage and provide appropriate services.”

“Hindi natin ito pwedeng ipagwalang-bahala dahil bukod sa naglilimita ito ng pagkakataon at karapatan, naglilihis din ito ng landas sa mga kabataan (We cannot ignore this because, aside from limiting opportunities and rights, it also leads the youth astray),” Gatchalian said.

The DSWD, together with national and local government agencies, signed a memorandum of agreement vowing to enforce the law and end child marriage and forced unions.

“Gusto ko ring ipaalala na hindi ito kayang gawin ng iisang ahensya lamang. Lahat tayo ay may papel dito. Kapag sabay-sabay ang galaw natin, mas malaki ang nabubuo nating resulta. At sa patuloy nating kooperasyon, mas malayo pa ang ating mararating (I also want to remind everyone that this cannot be done by just one agency. We all have a role to play. When we act together, the results we achieve are greater. And with our continued cooperation, we can go even further),” Gatchalian added.