Sex Offences in Philippines

The Representative Carmelo Lazatin has proposed a bill to the Philippine House of Representatives that would impose fines on individuals participating in online sexual activity.

Called An act prohibiting cyber sex, prostitution and pornography in the Philippines, providing penalties for its violation and for other purposes, or House Bill (HB) 3190, the legislation would prohibit cybersex — defined as sexually explicit online activity between two or more individuals — as well as prostitution or forms of pornography broadcast on the Internet.

Lazatin’s proposal calls for any financier, manager, producer or promoter of a “cybersex operation” to be penalized with jail terms of from 20-30 years, and fines from more than $12,000, but not more than $25,000.

Other offenders would be subjected to possible jail terms of between 5-10 years and fines of $6,000 to $12,000.

Non-resident aliens convicted of violating regulations would face the same penalties and fines with deportation immediately following completion of their jail term, and would be barred also from re-entering the country.

Offenders would also risk loss of any property used in the commission of related crimes.

In the bill, “cybersex” was defined by Lazatin as any form of Interactive prostitution, pornography and the performance of a sexual act or other obscene or indecent act, between or among those belonging to the same or opposite sexes, using, as primary channel, the cyberspace.

A member of the House of Representatives has filed a bill seeking to impose stiffer penalties for perpetrators of highly scandalous crimes against decency.

Aside from longer jail sentences, House Bill 2856 filed by Cebu Representative Antonio Cuenco also seeks to increase the fines provided for in the Revised Penal Code for such offenses as grave scandal, indecency and pornography, among others, to between P100,000 to P2,000,000, among others. Currently, such offenses carry sentences of only six months or less.

The current law seems to be taken lightly by offenders since its penalties are minimal compared to the gravity of crime, Cuenco said There is no justice if we let the criminals responsible for the grim days ahead of these victims walk away unscathed -- only to be incarcerated be for a mere six months or less.

The lawmaker also said there is a need to amend some provisions in the law to curtail, if not totally eradicate the conduct of inappropriate and obscene behavior.

The Philippines House of Representatives has approved a bill that seeks to prohibit both print and broadcast media from using the words "Muslim" and "Christian" as a means of describing a person suspected of committing a crime.

The bill's main authors said the measure's objective is to penalize media practitioners by imposing a fine of at least P50,000 whenever the words Muslim and Christian are used: It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to use in mass media, the words Muslim or Christian or any other words that would denote religious or ethnic affiliation to describe any person suspected of or convicted for having committed criminal or unlawful acts."

Hataman, a human rights advocate, said the bill would go a long way as this would reduce connotations of discrimination in the practice of religion.

The bill provides, however, that only editors of newspapers and broadcast stations will be penalized.

Four other measures were approved on third and final reading at the House, including House Bill 2420 amending the Family Code of the Philippines, HB 2811 penalizing those exploiting women and glorifying sexual violence in advertisements, HB 3305 banning obscene porn materials and live sex shows.