MORE ‘QUALITY TIME’ WITH CHILDREN KEY TO PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE, OTHER YOUTH PROBLEMS – CAYETANO

SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday called for systemic reforms that would give families and schools more quality time with children to help the country “get ahead” of rising youth violence and other problems.

Cayetano made the call in his manifestation during the Senate’s approval on third reading on September 21, 2026 of the proposed Sagip Bata Act and the Comprehensive School Safety Act.

The Sagip Bata Act seeks to strengthen the country’s laws against the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, including online grooming.

The Comprehensive School Safety Act, meanwhile, would establish a national framework for school safety, including standards on physical security, access control, and interagency threat monitoring across learning spaces.

While supporting such measures, Cayetano emphasized that the government can only make substantial progress on the problem by addressing the declining amount of time children spend with their families, teachers, and religious communities.

“These laws will help people. Every death prevented, every sexual abuse prevented, every bullying prevented is important… Pero kung gusto nating unahan, then it will take much more than regulating the media,” he said.

“It is becoming a more dangerous world because it’s becoming a busier world… Young people have more time with their cellphones than with their parents, school, and church,” he added.

Cayetano cited the shift to shorter school hours in many urban public schools since the implementation of the K to 12 program as one of the problems.

He renewed his call for the government to “put its money where our mouth is” on education by either fully funding K to 12 so that classroom shortages no longer force schools to hold half-day classes or removing the two additional years.

“Dinagdagan mo nga ng two years, half day naman… The reality is, less time ng church, parents, teachers sa bata, the more on-screen and online time they will have,” he said.

Cayetano said systemic reforms, together with changes in the habits of families and adults, could help protect the youth and prevent violence involving children from becoming normalized.

“Naging normal na busy tayo lahat. Naging normal y’ung rat race,” he said. “If we want to address the present problems, y’ung mga phenomena na unheard of sa atin before, y’ung violence sa schools… we have to give more time to the most important issues.”

“The young people need time with their parents, with their teachers, with their religious leaders,” he stressed.