Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL No. _______ 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Introduced by HONORABLE ERNESTO “ERNIX” M. DIONISIO, JR. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
AN ACT 
PROTECTING WOMEN IN STATE OF CUSTODY, PRESCRIBING THE MINIMUM 
STANDARDS FOR THEIR TREATMENT, PENALIZING ACTS IN VIOLATIONS 
THEREOF AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
It is the obligation of the State to protect and promote the enjoyment of human 
rights and ensure that human dignity is upheld and protected. This is visible in our 
1987 Constitution which prohibits the employment of physical, psychological, or 
degrading punishment against persons deprived of liberty, and mandates that 
detention or prison facilities should have adequate and humane facilities.  
Much should be done with the manner in which our detention and prison 
facilities are maintained and run, and in light of its harrowing state, it is the 
marginalized individuals under its custody that bear the brunt of its inadequacies. The 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has indicated that research 
conducted on the effects of incarceration on women rarely tackled their issues 
regarding their special needs.1 This is due to the fact that the majority of the prison 
population are males, hence, women detainees/prisoners’ needs are rarely met. Aside 
from the incapacity of facilities to meet their needs, women are also subjected to high 
victimization from sexual and physical abuse. 
This proposed bill seeks to address the issues faced by women 
detainees/prisoners by setting a minimum standard for their facilities and treatment. It 
also seeks to penalize such acts that would violate the provisions of this Act. 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
1 UNODC, Handbook on Women and Imprisonment. Criminal Justice Handbook Series. 2nd Edition 
with reference to the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures. 
October 6, 2022
2:22 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL No. _______ 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Introduced by HONORABLE ERNESTO “ERNIX” M. DIONISIO, JR. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
AN ACT 
PROTECTING WOMEN IN STATE OF CUSTODY, PRESCRIBING THE MINIMUM 
STANDARDS FOR THEIR TREATMENT, PENALIZING ACTS IN VIOLATIONS 
THEREOF AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Women in Detention 
Act of 2022.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State recognizes the rights of every 
woman under detention and shall, therefore, endeavor to shield them from any form 
of abuse or ill-treatment. 
It shall therefore be the policy of the State to ensure that the rights of persons 
deprived of liberty, particularly women, are protected from all forms of abuse by 
prescribing and adopting a minimum standard of treatment and holding accountable 
government authorities who shall violate the same. 
SECTION. 3. Coverage. – This Act shall apply to all women in state custody, 
whether detention for investigation and/or trial for an alleged commission of an offense 
or crime, or have been sentenced with imprisonment by final judgment, irrespective of 
the place of their detention ir imprisonment. It shall cover all detention and prison 
facilities where there are women inmates, such as those operated by the Bureau of 
Corrections (BuCor), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Local 
Government Units (LGU), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of 
the Philippines (AFP), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development 
(DSWD). 
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SECTION 4. Registry. – In every place where women are detained or 
imprisoned, there shall be kept a registration book, exclusively dedicated to women 
detainees and prisoners in which hereunder information shall be entered in respect of 
each woman detainee or prisoner received: 
(a) Information concerning her identity; 
(b) The reasons for her commitment and authority therefor; 
(c) The day and hour of her admission and release. 
 
SECTION 5.  Separate Detention/Prison Cells and its Facilities. – (a) 
Female detainees or prisoners shall at all times be held separately from male 
detainees or prisoners. For this purpose, separate cells and facilities for women shall 
form a party of the standard design in the construction and improvement of jails and 
its facilities; Provided that, in an institution that presently receives both men and 
women, there shall be an entirely separate building in which the whole of the premises 
shall be allocated exclusively to women detainees or prisoners.  
(b) There shall be special accommodation in every women’s institution for all 
necessary pre-natal and post-natal care and treatment, preventive health care for 
diseases like STDs (sexually transmittable diseases) and UTIs (urinary tract 
infections), and even counseling. Arrangements shall be made whenever practicable, 
for children to be born in a hospital outside the institution. If a child is born in prison, 
this fact shall not be mentioned in the birth certificate. 
 
SECTION 6. Rights of Women in State Custody. – In addition to the existing 
rights provided for by law in favor of persons deprived of their liberty or are under 
detention or in prison, all women in state custody shall have the following rights: 
(a) Every woman in State custody shall be treated in a humane manner and 
with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person and with particular 
regard to the special circumstances of womanhood; 
(b) Detention or imprisonment shall only be carried out strictly in accordance 
with the provisions of the law and by competent officials or persons 
authorized for that purpose; 
(c) No woman under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be subjected 
to torture or to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, and 
no circumstance whatever may be invoked as a justification for such acts; 
(d) No detained or imprisoned woman shall be subjected to any sexual abuse 
such as, but not limited to, having carnal knowledge or making any other 
form of sexual advancements; 
(e) Any woman shall at the commencement of detention or imprisonment or 
promptly thereafter, be provided by the authority responsible for her 
detention or imprisonment with information on and an explanation of her 
rights and how to avail herself of such rights 
(f) The state must take active steps to ensure that where possible female 
lawyers are available to represent women detainees or prisoners; and 


(g) Except for those rights the exercise of which is necessarily precluded by the 
fact of her detention or imprisonment, or the exercise of which husband 
temporarily or permanently denied to her as a result of, or as an accessory 
to the penalty imposed upon her, No woman deprived of liberty shall be 
barred from exercising rights that she would otherwise have been entitled 
to be it not for her detention or imprisonment, such as but not limited to, the 
right to access reproductive and maternal health services and rights relating 
to marriage and family relations. 
 
SECTION 7. Treatment of Women in State Custody. – Each of the 
governmental agencies cited in Section 3 hereof shadow at all times strictly implement 
the following: 
(a) Female security personnel shall always be present during the interrogation 
of women detainees; 
(b) At no time shall male security personnel be allowed entry to detention/prison 
facilities of women without the presence of female security personnel; and 
(c) In no case shall male security personnel or male inmates be allowed to stay 
in the premises allocated for women during nighttime. 
 
SECTION 8. Mandatory Visit and Inspection of Women Detention/Prison 
Cells and Facilities. – In order to supervise the strict observance of relevant laws and 
regulations in places of detention and imprisonment, the Commission on Human 
Rights (CHR) shall regularly visit and inspect the various women detention or prison 
cells and facilities, which shall be made without prior announcement to the agency or 
facility concerned. Provided, however, that independent women organizations may 
likewise inspect such places with prior coordination with the CHR. 
 
A detained or imprisoned woman shall have the right to communicate freely 
and in full confidentiality with the persons who visit and inspect the places of detention 
or imprisonment in the preceding paragraph of this section, subject to reasonable 
conditions to ensure security and order in such places.  
 
SECTION 9. Recruitment and Training of Police, Military, and Prison 
Personnel. – Each detention/prison institution shall recruit an adequate number of 
women police officers to specialize in cases of violence against women. All detention 
or prison personnel of the government agencies referred to in Section 3 hereof shall 
receive mandatory training and information about unlawful discrimination, sexual 
harassment and standards for the protection of women's rights, and how to respect 
and enforce them properly, which shall be conducted by the CHR or duly registered 
non-governmental organizations in the field of women’s rights.  
 
SECTION 10. Complaints of Alleged Abuse Against Women in State 
Custody. – A detained or imprisoned woman or her counsel shall have the right to 
make a complaint regarding her treatment or violation of her rights, in particular in 


cases of sexual abuse, torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, to the 
authorities responsible for the administration of the place of detention or imprisonment 
or other proper authorities. In those cases where neither the detained or imprisoned 
person nor her counsel is able to exercise her rights under the section, a member of 
the family of the detained or imprisoned woman or any other person who has 
knowledge of the case may exercise such rights. Confidentiality concerning the 
complaint shall be maintained if so requested by the complainant. 
 
Every complaint shall be promptly dealt with and we applied to without undue 
delay. Neither the detained or imprisoned woman nor any complainant under the 
preceding paragraph of this section shall suffer prejudice for making a complaint.  
 
SECTION 11. Duty to Report Alleged Abuse against Women in State 
Custody. – Prison officials and employees who have reason to believe that a violation 
of this Act has occurred or is about to occur shall have the duty to report the matter to 
their superior authorities and, where necessary, to other appropriate authorities. 
Any other person who has grounds to believe that a violation of this Act has 
occurred or is about to occur shall have the right to report the matter to the superiors 
of the officials involved as well as the other appropriate authorities.  
 
SECTION 12. Accountability of the Head of the Prison Institution. –  
(a) The respective heads of institutions responsible for the custody of women 
detainees/prisoners shall take effective steps to protect women detainees 
who report rape, sexual harassment, and other forms of abuses, threats, 
reprisals, or intimidation.  
(b) The immediate respective heads of the detention or prison institutions are 
prima facie presumed to have knowledge of the abuse committed against 
the women prisoners if: 
i. 
A complaint has been made before him or such other authority 
designated to receive such complaint, or if abuse was openly 
performed or well known among her co-inmates or prison personnel. 
ii. 
The head of the detention or prison institution has failed to act on the 
same. 
 
SECTION 13. Investigation of Alleged Abuse against Women in State 
Custody. – All Complaints of rape, sexual abuse, torture, or any unlawful 
advancement or violation of the rights provided in this act committed by any person 
against a woman detainee or prisoner must be investigated promptly and 
independently by the CHR. A medical examination and adequate legal services should 
be provided immediately for any woman in custody who alleges that she has been 
abused.  
 
Whenever the abuse has resulted to the death or unexplainable disappearance 
of a detained or imprisoned woman, an inquiry into the cause of death or 


disappearance shall be conducted by the CHR, at its own instance or at the instance 
of a member of the family of such woman or any person who has knowledge of the 
case. When circumstances so warrant, such an inquiry shall be held on the same 
procedural basis whenever the death or disappearance occurs shortly after the 
termination of the detention or imprisonment. The findings of such inquiry or a report 
thereon shall be made available upon request, unless doing so would jeopardize an 
ongoing criminal investigation. 
 
SECTION 14. Penalty Clause. – Any person who shall be guilty of violation of 
this Act shall suffer a penalty of six (6) months and one (1) day but not exceeding six 
(6) years, without prejudice to other criminal and administrative charges for which he 
may be held liable. 
 
SECTION 15. Mandatory Evaluation and Reporting. – Every four (4) years, 
each of the governmental agencies cited in Section 3, as well as CHR and duly 
registered non-governmental organizations in the field of women’s rights shall conduct 
a mandatory review of the implementation of this Act, and submit a report of its findings 
to Congress. 
 
SECTION 16. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is declared 
invalid or unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in 
full force and effect.   
  
 
SECTION 17. 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 18. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general 
circulation.  
 
Approved,