News

President Rodrigo Duterte signs law that raises the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16

by Abigail A. Marcos

March 28, 2022

On March 7th, 2022, the Office of the President announced Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to turn the bill into law, with the aforementioned serving as an attempt to protect minors from being coerced into sexual abuse. The law was signed on the 4th of March.

Before the law's signing, the Philippines lies second in the countries with the lowest ages of sexual consent, staying behind Nigeria's age of 11, according to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

A study conducted in 2015 by UNICEF and the Center for Women's Resources revealed that Seven out of 10 rape victims in the country were children.

The law states that any adult engaging in sexual activity with any individual under 16 would be convicted of statutory rape. Exceptions to this would be if the age difference were three years or less and is consensual. These exemptions do not apply if one is under 13.

Notably, the law's rape provision terminologies have been modified to become gender-neutral. It now defined rape as an act committed by a person who shall have carnal knowledge of another person, from what was once an act committed by a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman.

The law's principal author, Senator Risa Hontiveros, was elated to bear witness to the bill's passage into law, mentioning that she, as a mother, was "relieved that we have a government that is ready to listen and to defend our children". She mentioned that the law was a way of asking for forgiveness from sexual abuse victims who have not been served justice and protection from the government.

According to UNICEF Philippines representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov, Republic Act No. 11648 "was an essential step toward fulfilling children's rights to protection from sexual violence, abuse and exploitation, regardless of their sex, orientation and gender identity and expression."

The law was also blissfully welcomed by the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers, according to Josalee Deinla, mentioning that the union "welcomes this legal development and hopes that it will help protect young girls from rape and sexual abuse."