> ... Pass laws with strict truancy provisions ...
Well, there is the Child and Youth Welfare Code of the Philippines,
Articles 59(6) and 60 of which say the following:
---begin quote
Art. 59. Crimes. - Criminal liability shall attach to any parent who:
<snip>
(6) Causes, abates, or permits the truancy of the child from the school
where he is enrolled. "Truancy" as here used means absence without
cause for more than twenty schooldays, not necessarily consecutive.
It shall be the duty of the teacher in charge to report to the parents
the absences of the child the moment these exceed five schooldays.
<snip>
"Parents" as here used shall include the guardian and the head of the
institution or foster home which has custody of the child.
Art. 60. Penalty. - The act mentioned in the preceding article shall be
punishable with imprisonment from two or six months or a fine not
exceeding five hundred pesos, or both, at the discretion of the Court,
unless a higher penalty is provided for in the Revised Penal Code or
special laws, without prejudice to actions for the involuntary
commitment of the child under Title VIII of this Code.
---end quote
See
http://www.chanrobles.com/childandyouthwelfarecodeofthephilippines.htm
Passing that law (Presidential Decree 603, actually) doesn't seem to
have solved the problem. One suspects that the law is not being
efectively applied.
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