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| PHOTO: Grabbed from Flickr | Manila Bulletin |
Cebu Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa has re-filed his bill seeking to declare February 14 as the National Family Day to expand the definition of love from more than just romance into celebrating family love.
Under House Bill 4845, the Visayan lawmaker wants the government declare Feb. 14 of every year as a special working holiday to allow all Filipino families to celebrate and to get away with the traditional celebration of love during Valentine’s Day.
“In the nation’s current war against drugs, we see a staggering number of drug users and/or sellers coming out to seek help in resolving their drug dependence. Had they been given the opportunity in the past to be raised in a loving family that installs all the proper values in its children, they may have stood a huge chance against the drug menace,” Abellanosa said.
“There is no time more appropriate than now to begin curbing the problem not only by trimming the foliage but addressing it from the roots. The drug menace has long thrived because the family environment has festered with misplaced values that have cultivated errant behavior,” he said.
HB 4845 provides that Feb. 14 be declared as National Family Day to honor and to instill in our people the importance of nurturing the most basic unit of the community, the family.
Abellanosa said the family as the basic unit of society and nucleus of civilization should be strengthened so as to fortify the nation.
“The kinds of relationship fostered and the characteristics nurtured within a family are often reflected in larger societal units and this effect is correspondingly magnified up to the largest societal unit. To demonstrate a point, a community comprised of families that are economically stable, is also a community that is such. Hence, strengthening the family unit may well be the key to stronger nation,” he said.
Cebu Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa-The National Family Day shall celebrate the family unit’s contributions to nation-building and shall aim to remind Filipinos of its rights, capabilities and responsibilities.
HB 4845 mandates all government offices, private entities and academic institutions to conduct programs and activities to pay tribute to the family as the building block of a nation.
It tasks the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the local government units to prepare and adopt necessary policies for the observance of the National Family Day and to ensure the implementation of the proposed act.
COURTESY OF MANILA BULLETIN