A congressman who wants to institutionalize child support for struggling single parents says it's "wrong" for pride to get in the way of demanding or receiving help from their ex-lovers.

According to Northern Samar 1st district Rep. Paul Daza, the notion of "shared responsibility" in parenting a child must always be observed.

"Marami po dyan, mag boyfriend-girlfriend, tapos manganganak, tapos maghihiwalay. Usually naiiwan sa nanay. Ang problema yung mga nanay natin kung minsan, either ma-pride--'Hindi ako hihingi ng tulong dyan, bahala siya sa buhay niya. Hindi niya makikita yung anak namin (There are a lot of boyfriend-girlfriend couples that split up after they have a child. Usually the child is left with the mother. The problem is, the mothers will let their pride take over--'I will never seek help from him, he can have his way. He will never see our child),'" Daza told reporters in a recent press conference.

"Mali yun, di ba? Unang-una, walang pride-pride sa pagpapalaki ng anak, di ba? Shared responsibility. I-set aside dapat yun especially kung nahihirapan ka magpalaki ng anak mo (That's wrong, right? First of all, pride shouldn't dictate how you raise your child, right? It's q shared responsibility. You should set that aside especially if you're struggling to raise your child)," he explained.

"Kung mayaman ka, OK. But di ba, maganda pa rin na kahit hiwalay kayo na nakikita pa rin ng anak yung dalawang magulang (If you're rich, then fine. But it's still better for a child growing up to see both his or her parents even if they're already separate). I think most councilors will support that argument," the solon further said.

Daza also frowned upon the use of children as a "vindictive tool" between warring parents.

"Mayroon naman ibang magulang na spiteful. Para lang makabawi, ide-deny yung access sa anak, di ba? Ginagamit yung anak as a bargaining or vindictive tool. Mali din po (There are parents who are spiteful. They deny access to the child just to their child just to get back at their partners, right? They use their child as a bargaining or vindictive tool. That's also wrong). I don't think that's good practice."

Daza authored and filed House Bill (HB) No.44 or the proposed Child Support Enforcement Act in the 19th Congress.

In essence, the bill makes the non-provision of “sustento” or child support a punishable offense. It also provides for mechanisms for the custodial parent (usually the mother) to seek child support for the non-custodial parent.

"Kung gusto ng nanay na may financial support, the law will make it now easier for that non-custodial parent through either filing sa (before) court or administrative sa DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), mag-file (to file) for child support," Daza said.

Under Section 15 of HB No.44, “Any person who willfully fails to pay child support, if such an obligation has remained unpaid for two months or has an outstanding amount due of or more, shall be liable.”

“Probation may be granted to a first offender. For succeeding offenses, the penalty is imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than four years and a fine of not less than or not more than at the discretion of the court,” it added.