UPHOLDING THE RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS:A PHILIPPINE STANDPOINT
Giselle Marie S. Geronimo*

I. INTRODUCTION
The nature of the Philippine justice system ultimately reduces the role of the complaining victim into amere witness who is supposed to provide the evidence that is needed in order to prove the case. Thus, inthe prosecution of the offence, the complainant's role is limited to that of a witness for the prosecution.1 Beinga mere witness to the case, the risk of retraumatization can become high. Various stakeholders like the law
enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges tend to inadvertently forget that the victims have various
rights, other than being compensated as a form of support, that must be recognized and upheld. Victims haveto endure successive interviews and examinations of their harrowing experiences from the offenders, startingfrom the law enforcement officer to the prosecutor and finally before the trial court. When the victim is achild, another interview with a social worker may be added to the list. While the Philippines has recognized
the necessity of giving justice to the victims of crimes and not just bringing the perpetrators to the justicesystem, certain factors still deter its full realization.

II. CURRENT PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR VICTIMS OF CRIMES
A. Restitution and Victim Support
A Victims Compensation Program2 exists in the country in recognition of the need to compensate victims
for the impact or even trauma that the commission of a violent crime3 against them may have caused andeven grants compensation for victims of unjust imprisonment. A maximum amount of Ten Thousand Pesos(Php4 10,000.00) may be given as compensation to a qualified claimant for expenses incurred for hospitalization,
medical treatment, loss of wage, loss of support or other expenses directly related to injury.
A Rape Crisis Center5 has been established to provide rape victims with psychological counselling,
medical and health services, free legal assistance and to adopt programmes for the recovery of rape victims.
Witnesses or victims of a grave felony6 who are subjected to threats to life or bodily injury may avail
themselves of the Witness Protection Program7 of the country. Victims of the crime of trafficking in persons
have preferential entitlement under this programme.8*

City Prosecutor of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Region III, National Prosecution Service, Department of Justice,
Philippines.
1
Yokohoma Tire Philippines Inc. v. Sandra Reyes and Jocelyn Reyes, G.R. No. 236686, 5 Feb. 2020.
2
Republic Act No. 7309 otherwise known as “Act Creating a Board of Claims under the Department of Justice for Victims of
Unjust Imprisonment or Detention and Victims of Violent Crimes and For Other Purposes”, 30 Mar.1992.
3
Violent crimes under this law (R.A. No. 7309, Section 3-d) shall include rape and shall likewise refer to offences committedwith malice which resulted in death or serious physical and/or psychological injuries, permanent incapacity or disability,
insanity, abortion, serious trauma, or committed with torture, cruelly or barbarity.
4
Php stands for Philippine Peso. 1 USD is equivalent to PHP 51.28 based on the February 2022 exchange rate bulletin of the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (central bank of the Philippines).
5
Sec. 3, Republic Act No. 8505, otherwise known as the “Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1988”, 13 Feb. 1998.
6
Grave felonies are those to which the law attaches the capital punishment or penalties which in any of their periods areafflictive, Section 9, Act No. 3815, known as “The Revised Penal Code”.
7
Republic Act No. 6981 otherwise known as the “Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act”, 24 Apr. 1991.
8
Section 18, Republic Act No. 9208, otherwise known as the “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003”.

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For the special protection of children, the Philippines has enacted several laws addressing the vulnerabilitiesof the younger age groups, including the rising number of online child abuse cases. The following laws are
all aimed at protecting child victims:
1. Republic Act No. 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation andDiscrimination Act” declared it a State policy “to provide special protection to children from all formsof abuse, neglect, cruelty exploitation and discrimination and other conditions, prejudicial to theirdevelopment; provide sanctions for their commission and carry out a programme for prevention anddeterrence of and crisis intervention in situations of child abuse, exploitation and discrimination”9;
2. Republic Act No. 9775 otherwise known as the “Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009” defines andpenalizes a particular form of child abuse, which is child pornography. It declares among others, to“protect every child from all forms of exploitation and abuse”10; and3. Republic Act No. 9262 otherwise known as the “Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act
of 2004” enumerates the rights of victims to be treated with respect and dignity, to avail themselvesof legal and support services from the government and to be informed of their rights and the services
available to them, including their right to apply for a protection order.11 In all these laws enumerated,the confidentiality of the identity of the victim is of paramount importance and is enjoined to berespected.
B. Preventing Secondary Victimization
In recognizing the need to address the peculiar needs of a child who is a victim of a crime, the Supreme
Court of the Philippines enacted the Rule on Examination of a Child Witness12 which allowed the use of livelink television testimony, screens, one-way mirrors and other devices to shield the child from the perpetrator
during the testimony in court.13 Consistent with its objective to minimize trauma to children, a videotaped
deposition presided by a judge may be done under this rule upon application by the prosecutor, counsel orguardian ad litem14 should the child victim or witness be unable to testify in open court at trial.15 On the other
hand, a videotaped and audiotaped in-depth investigative or disclosure interview16 in child abuse cases may
also be done and be admissible in court, subject to the following conditions:(a) The child witness is unable to testify in court on grounds and under conditions established under
section 28 (c).
(b) The interview of the child was conducted by duly trained members of a multidisciplinary team or
representatives of law enforcement or child protective services in situations where child abuse issuspected so as to determine whether child abuse occurred.
(c) The party offering the videotape or audiotape must prove that:(1) the videotape or audiotape discloses the identity of all individuals present and at all times includes
their images and voices;(2) the statement was not made in response to questioning calculated to lead the child to make aparticular statement or is clearly shown to be the statement of the child and not the product ofimproper suggestion;(3) the videotape and audiotape machine or device was capable of recording testimony;(4) the person operating the device was competent to operate it;
9Section 2, Republic Act No. 7610.
Section 2 (b), Republic Act No. 9775.
11
Section 35, Republic Act No. 9262.
12
A.M. No. 004-07-SC, 21 Nov. 2000.
13
Sections 25-26, Rule on Examination of a Child Witness.
14
A “guardian ad litem” is a person appointed by the court where the case is pending for a child who is a victim of, accusedof, or a witness to a crime to protect the best interests of the said child (Section 4 (e), Rule on Examination of a Child
Witness.
15
Section 27, Rule on Examination of a Child Witness.
16“In-depth investigative interview” or “disclosure interview” is an inquiry or proceeding conducted by duly trained membersof a multidisciplinary team or representatives of law enforcement or child protective services for the purpose of determining
whether child abuse has been committed (Section 4 (i), Rule on Examination of a Child Witness).
10

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PARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS(5) the videotape or audiotape is authentic and correct; and(6) it has been duly preserved.
The individual conducting the interview of the child shall be available at trial for examination by any
party. Before the videotape or audiotape is offered in evidence, all parties shall be afforded an opportunity toview or listen to it and shall be furnished a copy of a written transcript of the proceedings.17

III. THE CHALLENGES
There is a certain bar between the numerous laws and promulgated rules vis-à-vis the actual implementationin different jurisdictions in the country.
A. Role of Victims in the Criminal Proceedings
1. 	Lack of Coordination of Victims with the Prosecutors
The role of the victims in the criminal proceedings, being reduced to mere witnesses, and the opportunity
for victims to express their views and concerns in the criminal proceedings are sometimes taken for granted.
In fact, these victims are merely instructed to bring the necessary pieces of evidence which may be in theircustody and prepare them for their testimony in court. While their role and the procedure may be briefly
explained to them, the same may not be as thorough as it should be due to lack of time and the numerous
cases being prepared for trial. There are victims who are vigilant with their cases, but there are somevictims who are pressed for time and money who only attend the court proceedings without coordinatingwith the prosecutor prior to the trial date. In fact, there are some victims who, after their testimony in court,
never go back to court to look into the outcome of the case. It behoves the prosecutor to inform them to atleast be apprised of the disposition of the case. It may seem as though it is the choice of the victim to benonchalant about their case, but these victims could also need assistance in order to ascertain that they haveproperly moved on from the trauma caused to them and were in fact properly reintegrated back to society
after such a painful experience.
2. Non-appearance/Disappearance of Witnesses
Victims often fear for their safety and retreat from prosecuting the case in exchange for a life far fromtheir offenders. Some witnesses even just disappear for a number of reasons, despite the existence of a
Witness Protection Program in the country. The disappearance of witnesses can be due to various causes,
such as: a) at the initial stage of the proceedings, they have experienced revictimization due to insensitive or
judgmental reactions of others that unnecessarily augmented their suffering. In sexual abuse cases, somevictims have even experienced not being believed even by their own parents or relatives; b) some have
either been paid or intimidated or forced to desist from the prosecution of the case; and c) other victims have
simply made a rational choice to move on with their lives and forget the crime done.
B. Preventing Secondary Victimization
1. During the Investigation StageA criminal prosecution is initiated by the filing of a complaint to a prosecutor who shall then conduct a
preliminary investigation in order to determine whether there is probable cause to hold the accused for trial
in court.18 In this stage, the victim/private complainant shall be examined by the public prosecutor todetermine the existence of probable cause. This procedure takes place after the victim has already beeninterviewed by the law enforcement officer. From these stages, the victim has to recount all the dreadfulexperience in order to establish the elements of the crime allegedly committed. By narrating it all over again,
the victim unfortunately suffers retraumatization, only to find out that another more stressful questioning
will be done during the trial stage on direct and cross-examination. The quality of the testimony may vary
as well as some details may change or differ from the earlier statements.
This is even harder for child victims who refuse to talk even just at the sight of their offenders, as not all
the trial courts in the country have provisions for live-link testimony or a one-way mirror. The successive
17
18

Section 29, Rule on Examination of a Child Witness.
Secretary Leila de Lima v. Mario Joel Reyes, G.R. No. 209330, 11 Jan. 2016.

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interviews of victims cause retraumatization as they have to recount the distressing ordeals that have
befallen them several times before they could probably be said to have proved their case. For children, thisis more traumatic, which could affect their mental and psychological health. It is sometimes a challenge torefer the victims for psychological/psychiatric help since not all jurisdictions are equipped with fully trained
trauma experts.
While an in-depth video interview may be done in accordance with the Rule on Examination of Children,
there are no trained law enforcement officers or members of multi-disciplinary teams in all jurisdictions who
can conduct the forensic interview. Some who were trained, on the other hand, have been either promoted
or are no longer connected with the same office which now discontinued the in-depth video interviews during
the investigation stage in some places. Some jurisdictions are conducting the interview nonetheless without
a trained law enforcement officer, at the risk of such video not being admissible in evidence in court should
non-compliance with the requirements set forth be ruled by the trial court.
2. 	During the Trial Stage
The trial stage is when the victim will be subjected to thorough direct examination and rigorous crossexamination by the defence counsel. It is a stressful situation that will bring the victim back to the harrowing
experience – after several examinations/interviews have been conducted on the same victim for the verysame acts. For children, this stage is doubly traumatizing. Victim-blaming, judgmental behaviour or comments
are also exhibited by some, from different agencies, whether it be the judge, the prosecutor, defence counsel
and others. Some victims shy away from recounting their ordeal for fear of being retraumatized. And whenthese witnesses have to relay it all over again in front of strangers, they suffer trauma anew.
3. 	Implementation of Programmes and Services in Response to Violence against Women and Children
While there are several laws and rules enacted for the protection of crime victims, programmes andservices vary in each locality, depending on the zeal of the local government as well as the proper allocationof the budget for each locality. Efforts of government as well as non-governmental organizations are notintegrated with each other in order to achieve a nationwide programme that may be utilized for the recoveryof victims.

IV. KAREN’S CASE – A REVICTIMIZATION
Karen was an employee who was raped by a former president of a local organization of businesses in thePhilippines. The rape case dragged on for eight (8) years, and the trial led to the acquittal of the accused in
2005. The trial court held, among others, that Karen should have fought off the accused who was already in
his sixties, in order to prevent the rape. Karen complained to the Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination Against Women, avowing that the action of the trial court subjected her to revictimizationand violated articles 2(c), 2(f), and 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women and CEDAW General Recommendation 19,19 which obliges a State to modify or abolishexisting laws, regulations and practices that constitute discrimination against women. Karen averred thatthe decision was grounded in gender-based myths about rape and rape victims.
It was the Committee’s recommendation that appropriate compensation be given to Karen, along withother recommendations for a review of existing Philippine laws. Ruling in Karen’s favour, the Committee,
thus, stated:[T]he Committee finally would like to recognize that the author of the communication has suffered moral
and social damage and prejudices, in particular by the excessive duration of the trial proceedings and by therevictimization through the stereotypes and gender-based myths relied upon in the judgement. The author
has also suffered pecuniary damages due to the loss of her job.20
19

May be easily accessed through the United Nations Human Rights website, https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/
pages/recommendations.aspx
20
United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), C/46/D/18/2008,
1 Sep. 2010, p. 16, par. 8.8.

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V. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
Victim retraumatization, or secondary victimization, may be avoided in the trial stage or even the
preliminary investigation stage before a prosecutor if a duly recorded forensic interview by those persons
authorized and trained for the purpose can be executed in such a way that it will be admissible to the courts
even in the unexpected absence of the victim in the future. Continuous training must be done in order not
to disrupt the process, and the protection of the victims will be ensured on this aspect.
Information campaigns must be improved in order to apprise victims of their rights and how to makethese rights accessible to them. A number of victims are still unaware of the possibility of getting compensatedfrom the Board of Claims or even how to avail themselves of the Witness Protection Program. Victimshaming and victim-blaming must be avoided at all costs in order to encourage the victims to stand up, beheard and protect their own rights. Convergent programmes for nationwide implementation for theprevention, protection, recovery and reintegration of crime victims must be continually developed such thatit caters to each and every locality, as it applies to them.

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