Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No._8931

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Pepito M. Pico

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The history of laws is a history of rules laid down by the powerful. For centuries, the
powerful -- the lawmakers -- were composed almost entirely of men. This is why crimes
that have predominantly been committed by men against women have so much historical
baggage to unpack. Why the law on rape has traditionally possessed many caveats and
qualifications and roadblocks to successful prosecution, when in reality nothing should
be more simple -sexual act committed against one person who did not consent thereto is
heinous crime that should be punished. Women have had to scratch and claw for their
right to say "no". While the law has made strides, in its current form it still retains
hallmarks of the era when women were seen as the property of men and men were seen
as having a right to sex.

This bill, based on a draft by the Philippine Commission on Women, seeks to bring the
prosecution and definition of rape up to modern standards, no longer placing the onus on
the victim’s refusal or resistance, or the specifics of the sexual act performed or attempted,
but instead placing focus on consent of all parties. The bill acknowledges and elaborates
upon the circumstance which are to be considered as inherently coercive; increases the
age of statutory rape from twelve to sixteen; and removes the qualifier, which requires
that a person in authority must have taken advantage of their position in order for that
authority to be considered in the computation of compensation due to the victim. The bill
also provides for increased compensation for victims under certain circumstances, such
as, when the victims is a minor and/or the offender is HIV or AIDS positive known to the
latter. The bill, if passed, shall stand as a reiteration of principles designed to prevent
personal and institutional biases from obstructing justice.

PERITO M. PICO
Representative, DIWA Party-list


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No,_ 8931

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Pepito M. Pico

AN ACT
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT 8353,
ALSO KNOWN AS THE ANTI-RAPE LAW OF 1997

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

SECTION 1. Article 266-A of Executive Order No. 209 is hereby amended to read as
follows:

SECTION 1. The crime of rape, classified as a Crime Against Persons under Title Eight
of Act No. 3815, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code is hereby amended to read
as follows:

“Chapter Three

Rape



Article 266-A. Rape: When and How Committed. -

(1) Rape is a sexual assault characterized by a lack of consent. Sexual assault
takes place when the bodily integrity of a person is violated by another by
means of sexual conduct. Consent is lacking when it is not voluntary and
unequivocal.

The following is a non-exclusive list of acts that constitute sexual assault: when
one has carnal knowledge of another without their consent; a man who touches
or inserts his penis into the female’s inner or outer vaginal labia, without her
consent; a man who touches or inserts his penis into another person’s mouth or
anal orifice, without the person’s consent; a person who touches or inserts any
instrument or object, including a finger, into the genital or anal orifice of
another person, without the latter’s consent.

(2) Any sexual act committed where at least one partner does not consent shall
be considered rape, and this shall include, but not be limited to, instances
characterized by the following:

(A) The presence of coercive or other similar circumstances rendering the
complainant incapable of giving consent:

(i) The use of force or detention, whether to the offended party directly
or to another in order to coerce the offended party;

(ii) Threat or intimidation, whether to the offended party directly or to
another in order to coerce the offended party;

(iii) Fraudulent machination;

(iv) Abuse of authority;

(v) When the offended party is under the influence of intoxicating
liquor or any drug or other substance which mentally incapacitates;

(B) When the offended party is under sixteen (16) years of age;

(C) When the offended party is demented or is deprived of reason and was
not in his/her lucid interval during the sexual act;

(D) When the offended party is unconscious or asleep for any reason.


(3) Rape is deemed consummated when the victim's genital, mout, or
anal orifice is touched by the sexual organ or any part of the body or any
object used to commit sexual assault as defined above.

(4) Evidence in Rape - The following principles apply in appreciation of
evidence for rape cases:

(A) No evidence of commission of force or violence is required for
conviction.

(B) No proof of penetration is required for conviction.

(C) There is no requirement for any party to have sustained an injury in
order for there to be a conviction.

(D) Findings of post-traumatic stress disorder, rape trauma syndrome and
the like among offended parties of sexual violence shall be admitted
as proof of lack of consent.

(E) Rape shield - The past sexual conduct of the rape victim shall be
absolutely prohibited from being presented as evidence in court and
shall not be admitted as evidence.

(F) There shall be no standard form or criteria of human behavioural
response from the offended party in order to prove lack of consent.
(G) Failure to immediately report the crime to the authorities shall not

destroy the credibility of the complaint.

(H) Res gestae evidence shall be admitted as evidence since the very first
persons to whom the private complainant related the rape incident
while in a state of trauma are crucial witnesses.

(1) Positive medico-legal findings of injury shall be admitted as evidence
while absence of hymen lacerations shall not disprove sexual abuse.

(J) Medico-legal and police stations should ensure proper DNA collection
of samples, DNA analysis and courts shall admit these reports as
evidence.”





“Article 266-B.Penalty and Compensation in Rape- The penalty for the crime
of rape shall be reclusion perpetua. The compensation to be awarded shall be
commensurate with the gravity of the violations of the complainant's rights, as
determined by the courts.

The following circumstances shall be considered as warranting higher
compensation:

(1) Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon;
(2) Whenever the rape was committed by two or more persons;

(3) When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become
insane or has developed a psychological;

(4) When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed by reason or on
the occasion thereof;

(5) When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, homicide is committed;

(6) When the offender is a biological or adoptive parent or a de facto parent
or a person who has raised the offended party without the benefit of
legal adoption, ascendant, step-parent, de facto or legal guardian, relative by
consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-law
spouse of live-in partner of the parent of the victim;

(7) When the victim is under the custody of the police or military authorities
or any law enforcement or penal institution;


(8) When the rape is committed in full view of the spouse, parent, any of the
children or other relatives within the third civil degree of consanguinity;

(9) When the victim is a religious engaged in legitimate religious vocation or
calling and is personally known to be such by the offender before or at the
time of the commission of the crime;

(10) When the victim is below eighteen (18) years old, and such circumstance
warrants increasingly higher penalties as the age of the victim decreases;

(11) When the offender knows that he is afflicted with Human Immuno
Deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or
any other sexually-transmissible disease;

(12) When committed by persons of public or moral authority such as:

(a) Any member of the armed forces of the Philippines or paramilitary units
thereof or the Philippine National Police or any law enforcement agency or
penal institution;

(b) Any elected official or appointed official performing a public function;

(c) Any person with moral ascendancy or possessing significant political or
religious influence;

(13) When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has suffered
permanent physical mutilation or disability;

(14) When the offender knew of the pregnancy of the offended party at the
time of the commission of the crime;

(15) When the offender knew of the mental disability, emotional disorder
and/or physical handicap of the offended party at the time of the commission
of the crime; and

(16) When the act of rape is documented through any kind of media, and the
documented act of rape has been disseminated to the public such as the
Internet or via other telecommunications device or mechanism.”

Article 266-C. No defense, exemption, or extinguishment of crime or penalty in
Rape - Subsequent forgiveness, marriage or other form of relationship between
the victim and the offender shall not constitute a defense to a charge of rape and
shall not, in any manner or degree, extinguish the crime or the penalty.”

“Article 266-D. Right to Appeal in Certain Cases -There shall be a right to appeal
of victims of rape in cases of acquittals that are anchored on gender myths and
biases.”


SECTION 2. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part of this Act is declared void
or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 3. Repealing Clause. Article 266 of Act No. 3815, as amended by Republic
Act 8353, and all laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive orders, administrative orders,
rules and regulations inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are deemed
amended, modified or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 4. Effectivity Clause.-This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,