Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 9781 _

Introduced by AKBAYAN Representative Tomasito S. Villarin

Traditionally, sexual harassment has been identified as a workplace based
transgression against women and confined within a work-related
environment.

However, throughout the years, the forms and venue of sexual harassment
has radically evolved. Wolf-whistling and catcalling are the most common
cases while cases of lascivious language, stalking, rubbing, or touching,
indecent gestures, exhibitionism, and public masturbation are also rapidly
pecoming recurring incidents. It does not happen only in the workplace but
in streets, alleys, public comfort rooms, schools and public utility vehicles,

The United Nations Safe Cities and Safe Streets Programs noted that these
forms of harassment limit the freedom of movement of affected women, ‘As
such, women’s ability to effectively participate in the social and public spheres
of life becomes compromised.

Aside from this, members of the LGBT community are also being subjected to
the same forms of harassment in public places. While the victims of street

Existing provisions of the Revised Penal Code lack the teeth to address these
gender-based offenses.

Thus, there is a need for Congress should define acts constituting harassment
and prescribe penalties for such offenses committed in public spaces.

This bill specifies penalties against gender-based harassment committed on
streets and public spaces. Additionally, this bill also proposes consciousness.
raising programs and education modules to propagate awareness on and
vigilance against gender-based street and public spaces harassment.

TO} ‘VILLARIN
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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 5 781

Introduced by AKBAYAN Representative Tomasito S. Villarin

AN ACT
DEFINING GENDER-BASED STREET AND PUBLIC SPACES =
HARASSMENT, PROVIDING PROTECTIVE MEASURES AND
PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Safe Streets and Public
Spaces Act of 2017”.

Section 2. Declaration of Principles. — It is the policy of the State to value
the dignity of every human person and guarantee full respect for human
rights. It is likewise the policy of the state to recognize the role of women in
nation-building and ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women
and men.

Section 3. Definitions. For the purpose of this Act, the following terms shall
be defined as follows:

a. Public spaces include but are not limited to, streets and alleys, public
Parks, schools, buildings, malls, bars, restaurants, transportation
terminals, public markets, and public utility vehicles.

b. Stalking refers to conduct directed at a person that serves no legitimate
purpose and alarms, annoys, or intimidates that person.

Section 4. Specific Acts and Penalties. - The following acts are hereby
declared as prohibited gender-based street and public spaces harassment and
are penalized under the following schedule:

a. Light violations. ~ Cursing, wolf-whistling, cat-calling, leering; persistent
requests for name, contact and social media details or destination after
clear refusal; the use of words, gestures or actions tending to ridicule on
the basis of actual or perceived sex, gender expression, or sexual
orientation and identity including sexist, homophobic and transphobic


slurs; or the persistent telling of sexual jokes, use of sexual names,
comments and demands;

i, First offense shall be punished by a fine of One Thousand
Pesos (PhP1,000.00) and/or community service of eight (8)
hours inclusive of a Gender Sensitivity Seminar to be
conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in
coordination with the local government unit and the
Philippine Commission on Women (PCW),
ii. Second offense shall be shall be punished by aresto menor
(six to ten days) or a fine of Two Thousand Pesos
PhP2,000.00,
iii. Third offense shall be punished by aresto menor (eleven to
thirty days) or a fine of Three Thousand Pesos
(PhP3000.00).
b. Medium violations. — Making offensive body gestures at someone,
exposing private parts for the sexual gratification of the perpetrator with
the effect of demeaning, harassing, threatening or intimidating the
offended party. These include but are not limited to flashing,
masturbation, groping, and similar actions.

i. First offense shall be punished by a fine of Three Thousand
Pesos (PhP3000.00) and/or community service of eight (8)
hours inclusive of a Gender Sensitivity Seminar, to be
conducted by the PNP in coordination with the local
government unit and the PCW,

iv. Second offense shall be punished by aresto menor (eleven
to thirty days) or a fine of Four Thousand Pesos
(PhP4000.00),

v. Third offense shall be punished by aresto mayor (one to six
months) or a fine of Five Thousand Pesos (PhP5000.00).

. Severe violations ~ Stalking; any of the acts mentioned in paragraphs a
and b when accompanied by touching, pinching or brushing against the
body of the offended person; or any touching, pinching, or brushing
against the genitalia, anus, groin, breasts, inner thighs, face, or buttocks
even when not accompanied by acts mentioned in paragraphs a and b.

i, First offense shall be punished by aresto menor (eleven to
thirty days) or a fine of Four Thousand Pesos (PhP4000.00),
provided that it includes attendance in a Gender Sensitivity
Seminar, to be conducted by the PNP in coordination with
the local government unit and the PCW,

ii, Second offense shall be punished by aresto mayor (one to
six months) or a fine of Five Thousand Pesos (PhP5000.00),

iii, Third offense shall be punished by aresto mayor (one to six
months) or a fine of Ten Thousand Pesos (PhP10,000.00).

Where appropriate, the court, even before a rendering a final decision, may

2


issue an order directing the accused to Stay away from the offended person at
a distance specified by the court, or to stay away from the residence, school,
place of employment, or any specified place frequented by the offended
person,

The penalties provided in this section are without prejudice to any
administrative sanctions that may be imposed if the perpetrator is a
government employee.

Nothing in this Act shall prevent Local Government Units (LGUs) from
enacting ordinances which impose higher penalties than those specified
herein for the corresponding violations,

When the perpetrator is a stranger to the victim, absence of consent is,
presumed,

Nothing in this Act shall be understood to criminalize or penalize acts
committed as legitimate expressions of indigenous culture and tradition with
no intent to harass.

Section 5. “No means no” Principle. When the victim utters the phrase, “no
means no” or its translation in the local dialect, the presumption of absence
of consent is rendered conclusive. The National Commission on the Filipino
language shall provide official translations of the aforementioned phrase in all
local languages. Local government units shall disseminate the phrase in its
local translation in their implementation of this Act and in all information
campaigns pertinent to the same.

Section 6. Authority to Apprehend Gender-based Street Harassment
Perpetrators for Light and Medium Offenses. The Philippine National Police
(PNP) shall deputize its enforcers, including units of the Metro Manila
Development Authority (MMDA) as Anti Sexual Harassment Enforcers (A-
SHE). A-SHE shall have the authority to receive complaints on the street and
immediately apprehend the offender if the same was caught in flagrante
delicto. For light and medium offenses, A-SHEs may immediately impose the
fine for, or issue orders for Community Service. The A-SHE unit, together with
the Women and Children’s Desk of PNP stations, will keep a ledger of offenders
of this Act for purposes of determining if the offender is a first, second, or
third offender.

Section 7. Qualified Gender-based Street and Public Spaces Harassment.
~ The penalty next higher in degree will be applied in the following cases:

a. If the violation is committed in a common carrier or public utility
vehicle, including but not limited to jeepneys, taxis, tricycles, or
transport network vehicle services, where the perpetrator is the driver
of the vehicle and the offended party is a passenger;

b. If the offended party is a minor;


¢. If the perpetrator is a member of the uniformed services, such as the
PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the act was
perpetrated while the perpetrator was in uniform,

d. If the violation takes place in the premises of a government agency
offering front-line services to the public and the perpetrator is a
government employee.

Section 8. Gender-based Harassment in Restaurants, Bars, Cinemas,
Malls, Buildings and other Privately-owned Places Open to the Public,
Restaurants, bars, cinemas, malls, buildings and other privately-owned
places open to the public shall adopt a zero-tolerance policy against
harassment. These establishments have the obligation to provide assistance
to victims of harassment by coordinating with local police authorities
immediately after harassment is reported, making CCTV footage available,
and providing a safe gender-sensitive environment to encourage victims to
report harassment at the first instance.

fhe PCW shall develop a mandatory seminar against public spaces
harassment, attendance in which shall be made a prerequisite for any
business permit renewal. All restaurants, bars, cinemas and other places of
recreation shall install in their business establishments clearly-visible
warning signs against public spaces harassment, including the anti.
harassment hotline number in bold letters, and shall designate at least one
anti-sexual harassment officer to receive gender-based harassment
complaints. Security guards in these places may be deputized to apprehend
Perpetrators caught in flagrante delicto and are required to immediately
coordinate with local authorities.

Section 9. Gender-based Harassment Involving Schools. Each school,
whether grade school, high school, tertiary, or vocational institutions, shall
designate an officer in charge for receiving complaints regarding violations of
this Act, and shall ensure that complainants are provided with a gender-

procedures for students to file complaints under this Act. Even if an individual
does not want to file a complaint or does not request that the school take any
action on the student’s behalf, if a school knows or reasonably should know
about possible sexual harassment or sexual violence, it must promptly
investigate to determine what occurred and then take appropriate steps to
resolve the situation. If a school knows or reasonably should know about
sexual harassment or sexual violence that creates a hostile environment, the
school must take immediate action to eliminate the sexual harassment or
sexual violence, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects.

Section 10. Gender-based Harassment in Public Utility Vehicles. In
addition to the penalties in this Act, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) may
also cancel the license of perpetrators, and the Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) may suspend or revoke the
franchise of transportation operators. Gender-based harassment in Public


Utility Vehicles (PUVs) where the perpetrator is the driver of the vehicle shall
also constitute a breach of contract of carriage, for the purpose of creating a
presumption of negligence on the part of the owner/operator of the vehicle in
the selection and supervision of employees and rendering the former solidarily
liable for the offenses of the latter.

Section 11. PNP Women and Children’s Desks. The Women and Children’s
desks in all police stations shall act on and attend to all complaints covered
under this Act, and shall coordinate with A-SHE officers on the street, security
guards in privately-owned spaces open to the public, and anti-sexual
harassment officers in government and private offices or schools in the
enforcement of the provisions of this Act.

Section 12. Educational Modules. Courses in high school and college shall
include age-appropriate educational modules against street and public spaces
harassment, such modules to be developed by the Department of Education
(DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the PCW.

Section 13. Safety Audits. Local government units are required to conduct
safety audits every three years to determine effective implementation of the
Act within their jurisdictions. Such audits shall be multi-sectoral and
participatory, with consultations undertaken with schools, police officers, and
civil society organizations.

Section 14. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held
invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions not affected thereby
shall remain valid and subsisting.

Section 15. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed,
modified or amended accordingly.

Section 16. Effectivity. - This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general
circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,