SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
Second Regular Session 
)
o( t li:  E'arc c tn r f
'17 JUL20 P1-.30
SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1 5 0 3
R EC ElVLu bV:
Introduced by SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR VICTIMS OF CRIMES
Explanatory Note
Our Constitution declares that the maintenance of peace and order and the 
protection of life, liberty, and property are essential for the enjoyment by all the people 
of the blessings of democracy. Furthermore, the State shall value the dignity of every 
human being and guarantee full respect for human rights.
Article 3 of our Constitution enshrines our bill of rights. A cursory reading of 
the Article shows several rights that may apply to citizens who have been accused of 
committing a crime, such as: Section 12 on the right to remain silent and the right to 
counsel; Section 13 providing for the right to bail; Section 14 on the right to due 
process, to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise, to be informed of the charges 
against him/her, to a speedy trial, to meet the witnesses against him/her face to face; 
and Section 19 on the right against excessive punishment and the proscription on the 
imposition of the death penalty.
Absent in the enumeration of the most important rights of our citizens are those 
applicable to persons and their families who have been victimized by crime. Crime 
victims are also entitled to justice and due process. They deserve to be treated with 
respect and dignity. They are dependent upon the proper functioning of government 
and the criminal justice system.
Thus, to ensure that legitimate rights available to crime victims are upheld and 
enforced, this measure seeks to enact their bill of rights.
Among the rights specified in this measure are the rights of crime victims to: be 
treated with fairness and respect for his or her privacy; information about the status 
of the investigation and the criminal proceedings; protection from the offender and 
persons acting on behalf of the offender; be heard in all proceedings concerning the 
offender; consider their safety and interests before any pre or post-trial release of the 
offender, among others.


This bill also specifies the periods during which the rights apply, the individuals 
who may exercise the rights, and how the Victims Bill of Rights is to be interpreted.
With thousands of families now mourning the loss of their loved ones and 
seeking justice for those extrajudicially killed in the course of the current 
Administration’s bloody war on drugs, it is high time for Congress to enact a 
comprehensive statute which enshrines rights available to them as crime victims.
Early approval of this measure is earnestly requested.
LEILA M. DE LIMA


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
Second Regular Session 
)
o( li. f
*17 Jli 20 PI -31
SENATE
RtCillVuU b.;
SENATE BILL NO. 1 5 0 3  
7
^
Introduced by SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA
AN ACT
PROVIDING 1 OR A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR VICTIMS OF CRIMES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled:
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Section i. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the “Victim’s Bill of Rights Act of
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2017”.
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Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. -  The State recognizes the rights of people who have 
been victimized by a wrong amounting to a crime. They are entitled to have the 
criminal justice system view criminal acts as serious threats to the safety and welfare 
of the people. Thus, in order to protect public safety and to secure justice when public 
safety has been compromised by criminal activity, the State shall enact a law ensuring 
a bill of rights for victims of crimes, including safeguards in the criminal justice system 
fully protecting those rights and ensuring that crime victims are treated with respect 
and dignity.
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Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -
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(a) “Offense” means a conduct defined and penalized by the Revised Penal
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Code and other penal laws.


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(b) “Victim” refers to a person who suffers direct or threatened physical, 
psychological, or financial harm as a result of the commission or 
attempted commission of an offense or delinquent act. It also includes 
the person's spouse, parents, children, siblings, or guardian, and 
includes a lawful representative of a victim who is deceased, a minor, or 
physically or psychologically incapacitated.
(c) “Offender” refers to a person who commits an act which causes a direct 
or threatened physical, psychological, or financial harm to another 
resulting to the commission or attempted commission of an offense or 
delinquent act. As used in this Act, an offender may be an accused, 
defendant, or convicted felon.
Sec. 4. Coverage. -  The rights provided for under this Act are applicable during:
(a) the investigation and prosecution of the offense;
(b) the corrections and conditional release process; and
(c) the proceedings of courts in respect of accused who are found not 
criminally responsible on account of mental disorder or unfit to stand 
trial.
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Sec. 5. Victim’s Bill of Rights. -  In order to preserve and protect a victim’s rights to
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justice and due process, a victim shall be entitled to the following rights:
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i) To be treated with fairness and respect for his or her privacy and
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dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse,
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throughout the criminal or juvenile justice process;
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2) To be reasonably protected from the offender and persons acting on
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behalf of the offender;


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3) To have the safety of the victim and the victim’s family considered in 
fixing the amount of bail and release conditions for the offender;
4) To prevent the disclosure of confidential information or records to the 
offender, the offender’s counsel, or any other person acting on behalf of 
the offender, which could be used to locate or harass the victim or the 
victim’s family or which disclose confidential communications made in 
the course of medical or counselling treatment, or which are otherwise 
privileged or confidential by law;
5) To refuse an interview, deposition, or discovery request by the offender, 
the offender’s attorney, or any other person acting on behalf of the 
offender without the presence of the victim’s counsel and to set 
reasonable conditions on the conduct of any such interview to which the 
victim consents;
6) To reasonable notice of and to reasonably confer with the prosecuting 
agency, upon request, regarding: the arrest of the offender if known by 
the prosecutor, the charges filed, the determination whether to 
extradite the offender, and to be notified of and informed before any 
pre-trial disposition of the case;
7) To reasonable notice of all public proceedings, including delinquency 
proceedings, upon request, at which the offender and the prosecutor are 
entitled to be present and of all parole or other post-conviction release 
proceedings, and to be present at all such proceedings;
8) To be heard, upon request, at any proceeding, including any 
delinquency proceeding, involving a post-arrest release decision, plea, 
sentencing, post-conviction release decision, or any proceeding in 
which a right of the victim is at issue;


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9) To a speedy trial and a prompt and final conclusion of the case and any 
related post-judgment proceedings;
10) To provide information to a probation officer conducting investigation 
concerning the impact of the offense on the victim and the victim’s 
family and any recommendations before the grant of probation to the 
offender;
11) To receive, upon request, the order granting probation when available 
to the offender;
12) To be informed, upon request, of the conviction, sentence, place and 
time of incarceration, or other disposition of the offender, the scheduled 
release date of the offender, and the release of or the escape by the 
offender from custody;
13) To restitution;
14) To the prompt return of property when no longer needed as evidence;
15) To be informed of all parole procedures, to participate in the parole
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process, to provide information to the parole officer to be considered 
before the parole of the offender, and to be notified, upon request, of 
the parole or other release of the offender;
16) To have the safety of the victim, the victim’s family, and the general 
public considered before any parole or other post-judgment release 
decision is made; and
17) To be informed of the rights enumerated in sub-paragraphs (1) through 
(16) of this section.
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Sec. 6. Construction. -  This Act is to be construed and applied in a manner that is
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reasonable in the circumstances, and in a manner that is not likely to:


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(a) interfere with the proper administration of justice, including:
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by causing interference with police discretion or causing 
excessive delay in, or compromising or hindering, the 
investigation of any offense; and
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by causing interference with prosecutorial discretion or 
causing excessive delay in, or compromising or hindering, the 
prosecution of any offense;
(b) interfere with the discretion that may be exercised by any person or body 
authorized to release an offender into the community;
(c) endanger the life or safety of any individual; or
(d) cause injury to international relations or national defense or national 
security.
Sec. 7. Penalty Clause. -  Any person who shall deny or prevent a victim from 
exercising any of the rights provided for under this Act shall suffer a penalty of six (6) 
months and one (i) day but not exceeding six (6) years, without prejudice to other 
criminal and administrative charges for which he may be held liable.
Sec. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -  Within six (6) months from the date 
of effectivity of this Act, the Department of Justice and the Commission on Human 
Rights shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations to 
implement the provisions of this Act.
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Sec. 9. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
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unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force
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and effect.


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Sec. lo. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, 
presidential proclamations, letters of instruction, rules and regulations or parts
thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified 
accordingly.
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Sec. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect upon its approval fifteen (15) days 
following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general 
circulation in the Philippines.
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Approved,