Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
st Regular Session

House BiLLNo._2591

Introduced by

HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Almost everyone in our country is now equipped with mobile phones. With the
technology today, mobile phones have become handy tools in our fast-paced lifestyle. Now,
mobile phones compete in terms of clarity of camera as well as video shooting. Hence,
everyone had virtually become a photographer or videographer in their own right. But with
these powerful tools also come with great responsibility. This responsibility entails the
adherence to protecting the rights of women and their children who are vulnerable to abuse
through the usage of technology.

For the past years since camera phones have become a commodity, video or photo
scandals involving women have been circulating in the internet as well as passed one from
one mobile phone to another. Sadly, the usual culprit is the partner of the woman whom
she trusted and loved. These sad and emotional plights women have to go through under
the guise of love and trust are appalling and disturbing.

Hence, this bill seeks to protect these women and their children from all forms of
electronic violence, thus augmenting and fortifying the mandates under Republic Act No.
9262 or the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act as well as under Republic
act No. 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act.

The salient feature of this proposed measure is the issuance of an E-VAW Protection
Order. Herein, it orders for the immediate blocking, blacklisting or shutdown of any internet
site that propagates the uncompromising photo or video shots of the victim. More
importantly, the measure aptly defines electronic violence by including harassment through
text messaging and cyber-bullying.



This measure is taken from the same Senate Bil filed by Senator Nancy S. Binay. By
reason of the noble cause promulgated by this proposed legislation, the passage of this bill
will ensure the protection of women against undue harassment as well as assure them
respect from the society.

Thus, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought,

GYSS: TAI
District, Paranaque City ‘


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2591

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by

HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING

AN ACT TO AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9262 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE ANTI-
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ACT OF 2004, DEFINING ELECTRONIC
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (E-VAW), PROVIDING PROTECTIVE MEASURES AND
PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR, 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 "E-VAW Act of 2013",

SECTION 2. Section 3 (a) of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 3. Definition of Terms.- As used in this Act,

(a) "Violence against women and their children" refers to any act or a series of acts
committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or
against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating
relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether
legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is
likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic
abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or
arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not limited to, the following
acts:

xX

{E) “ELECTRONIC VIOLENCE” REFERS TO ANY ACT OR OMISSION INVOLVING THE
USE OR EXPLOITATION OF EPHEMERAL DATA OR ANY FORM OF INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) WHICH CAUSES OR IS LIKELY TO


CAUSE MENATAL, EMOTIONAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS OR SUFFERING TO
THE VICTIM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING:

1. UNAUTHORIZED RECORDING, REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION OF
VIDEOS SHOWING THE VICTIM'S PRIVATE AREA OR THE VICTIM'S NAKED OR
UNDERGARMENT-CLAD GENITALS, PUBIC AREA, BUTTOCKS OR BREASTS;

2. UPLOADING OR SHARING WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE VICTIM, ANY
FORM OF MEDIA THAT CONTAIN PICTURES, VOICE OR VIDEO OF THE
VICTIM WITH LEWD, INDECENT, OBSCENE OR SEXUAL CONTENT;

3. HARASSING OR THREATENING THE VICTIM THROUGH TEXT MESSAGING
‘OR OTHER CYBER, ELECTRONIC OR MULTIMEDIA MEANS;

4. CYBER-STALKING WHICH INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO THE
HACKING OF PERSONAL ACOUNTS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND THE
USE OF LOCATION TRACKERS ON CELLULAR DEVICES; AND

5. UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE VICTIM'S PICTURE, VIDEO, VOICE, NAME OR
ANY OTHER ASPECT OF THE VICTIM'S IDENTITY AND DISTRIBUTING THE
SAME IN ANY VIDEO GAME, PHONE APPLICATION, PROGRAM AND THE
LIKES, WHICH PUTS OR TENDS TO PUT THE VICTIM IN A BAD LIGHT OR
INJURE THE VICTIM'S REPUTATION.”

SECTION 3. Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004, is hereby amended to read as follows

“SECTION 5. Acts of Violence Against Women and Their Children.- The crime of
violence against women and their children is committed through any of the following
acts:

XXX

(J) CAUSING ELECTRONIC VIOLENCE AGAINST A WOMAN OR HER CHILD; AND

(k) THREATENING TO CAUSE ELECTRONIC VIOLENCE AGAINST A WOMAN OR HER
CHILD.”

SECTION 4. Section 6 of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 6. Penalties.- The crime of violence against women and their children,
under Section 5 hereof shall be punished according to the following rules:

XXX

(G) ACTS FALLING UNDER SECTION 5(J) SHALL BE PUNISHED BY PRISION
CORRECCIONAL; AND


(H) ACTS FALLING UNDER SECTION 5(K) SHALL BE PUNISHED BY ARRESTO MAYOR.

(I) ANY ACT OR OMISSION INVOLVING THE USE OR EXPLOITATION OF ANY FORM
OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TEHNOLOGY (ICT) WHICH CAUSES OR IS
LIKELY TO CASUE MENTAL EMOTIONAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS OR
SUFFERING TO THE VICTIM, SHALL BE PUNISHED BY PRISION CORRECCIONAL OR A
FINE IN THE AMOUNT OF NOT LES THAN THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (PHP
300,000.00) BUT NOT MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (PHP
500,000.00)

If the acts are committed while the woman or child is pregnant or committed in the
presence of her child, the penalty to be applied shall be the maximum period of
penalty prescribed in the section.

In addition to imprisonment, the perpetrator shall (a) pay a fine in the amount of not
less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than three
hundred thousand pesos (300,000.00), PROVIDED, THAT, IN E-VAW CASES, THE FINE
THAT MAY BE IMPOSED SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND
PESOS (PHP 300,000.00) BUT NOT MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS
(PHP 500,000.00); (b) undergo mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric
treatment and shall report compliance to the court.

SECTION 5. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 8. Protection Orders.- A protection order is an order issued under this act
for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against a woman or her child
specified in Section 5 of this Act and granting other necessary relief. The relief
granted under a protection order serve the purpose of safeguarding the victim from
further harm, minimizing any disruption in the victim's daily life, and facilitating the
opportunity and ability of the victim to independently regain contro! over her life.
The provisions of the protection order shall be enforced by law enforcement
agencies. The protection orders that may be issued under this Act are the barangay
protection order (BPO), temporary protection order (TPO) and permanent protection
order (PPO) AND E-VAW PROTECTION ORDER (EPO) FOR CASES OF ELECTRONIC
VIOLENCE. The protection orders that may be issued under this Act shall include any,
some or all of the following reliefs:

XXX,

(L) FOR E-VAW CASES, ORDERING THE IMMEDIATE BLOCKING, BLACKLISTING,
REMOVAL OR SHUTDOWN OF ANY UPLOAD, PROGRAM OR APPLICATION THAT
CAUSES OR TENDS TO CAUSE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE VICTIM.


Any of the reliefs provided under this section shall be granted even in the absence of
a decree of legal separation or annulment or declaration of absolute nullity of
marriage.

The issuance of a BPO or the pendency of an application for BPO shall not preclude a
petitioner from applying for, or the court from granting a TPO, [or] PPO OR EPO.

SECTION 6, Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 11. How to Apply for a Protection Order.— The application for a protection
order must be in writing, signed and verified under oath by the applicant. It may be
filed as an independent action or as incidental relief in any civil or criminal case the
subject matter or issues thereof partakes of a violence as described in this Act. A
standard protection order application form, written in English with translation to the
major local languages, shall be made available to facilitate applications for
protections order, and shall contain, among other, the following information:

(2) names and addresses of petitioner and respondent;

(b) description of ret

nships between pe!

ner and respondent;
(ca statement of the circumstances of the abuse;

(d) description of the reliefs requested by petitioner as specified in Section 8 her

(e) request for counsel and reasons for such;
(f) request for waiver of application fees until hearing; and

(g) an attestation that there is no pending application for a protection order in
another court.

If the applicants is not the victim, the application must be accompanied by an affidavit of
the applicant attesting to (a) the circumstances of the abuse suffered by the victim and (b)
the circumstances of consent given by the victim for the filling of the application. When
disclosure of the address of the victim will pose danger to her life, it shall be so stated in the
application. In such a case, the applicant shall attest that the victim is residing in the
municipality or city over which court has territorial jurisdiction, and shall provide a mailing
address for purpose of service processing.

An application for protection order filed with a court shall be considered an application for
both a TPO and PPO.

AN APPLICATION FOR BPO, TPO OR PPO SHALL AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDE AN
APPLICATION FOR EPO. THE LATTER MAY BE ISSUED AS PART OF THE CONDITIONS FOR
THE BPO, TPO OR PPO OR AS A SEPARATE PROTECTION ORDER.


Barangay officials and court personnel shall assist applicants in the preparation of the
application. Law enforcement agents shall also extend assistance in the application for
protection orders in cases brought to their attention.

SECTION 8. Section 16-A is hereby inserted to read as follows:

“SECTION 16-A. E-VAW PROTECTION ORDER. ~ IN CASES OF ELECTRONIC VIOLENCE,
AN E-VAW PROTECTION ORDER MAY BE ISSUED SIMULTANEOULSY OR
SUBSEQUENT TO THE ISSUANCE OF A BPO, TPO OR PPO.

E-VAW PROTECTION ORDERS SHALL BE ISSUED BY THE BARANGAY OR THE
COURTS, AS THE CASE MAY BE, INDEPENDENTLY OF OR IN ADDITION TO NON-E-
\VAW PROTECTION ORDERS. HOWEVER, AN E-VAW PROTECTION ORDER, ONCE
ISSUED, DOES NOT EXPIRE AND CONTINUES TO TAKE EFFECT WHILE THE CASE IS
PENDING AND UNTIL THE SAME IS REVOKED BY THE ORDER OF THE COURT.”

SECTION 9. Section 39 of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004, is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 39. Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Their Children
(AC-VAWC). In pursuance of the abovementioned policy, there is hereby established
an Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and their children, hereinafter
known as the Council, which shall be composed of the following agencies:

(a) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);
2K

() National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); AND

(M) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DOST).

These agencies are tasked to formulate programs and projects to eliminate VAW based on
their mandates as well as develop capability programs for their employees to become more
sensitive to the needs of their clients. The Council will also serve as the monitoring body as
regards to VAW initiatives.

The Council members may designate their duly authorized representative who shall have a
rank not lower than an assistant secretary or its equivalent. These representatives shall
attend Council meetings in their behalf, and shall receive emoluments 2s may be
determined by the Council in accordance with existing budget and accounting rules and
regulations.

SECTION 10. Separability Clouse. -If any portion or provision of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining portions or provisions shall not be affected,


SECTION 11. Repealing Clause -All laws, decrees, executive orders and rules and
regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 50. Effectivity This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its
complete publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,