G REPRESEN.

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> RECEIVED
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DATE July 28, 2022

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

TIME 4:13pm
NINETEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session e, ar,
House Bill No._2714 Wp InDEXS

Introduced by
HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ

and
HON. JUDE A. ACIDRE

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY AND PROVIDING
FUNDS THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 13, Article || of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that: “The
State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and
protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall
inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism and encourage their involvement in
public and civic affairs.” Further, Section 24 of the same article provides that: “The
State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building.”

Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution and the mandate of the State to
uphold and guarantee the rights of the victims of sexual abuse, this bill seeks to
establish a National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), a national database which shall
contain the names and other pertinent details of sex offenders who reside or sojourn
in the country. The Registry shall be made available in a website that is accessible by
the public and shall only include relevant information about the sex offender, such as
name, recent photograph, and the crime committed.


The establishment of this Registry will aid the government in ensuring public
safety and in increasing the awareness of the community, thereby providing stronger
protection to Filipinos, especially the children and the vulnerable.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Rep. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
Representative,’Tingog Sinirangan

Rep. JUDE. ACIDRE
Representative, Tingog Sinirangan


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__2714

Introduced by

HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
and
HON. JUDE A. ACIDRE

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY AND PROVIDING
FUNDS THEREFOR

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 “Sex Offender Registry
Act.”

Section 2. Dec/aration of Policy. In accordance with Section 11, Article I! of
the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which provides that “the State values the dignity of
every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights,” it is hereby
declared the policy of the State to protect the physical, moral, spiritual, and social well-
being of its citizens.

Towards this end, it shall adopt measures to ensure their safety from any form
of sexual abuse and exploitation by making our community and law enforcement
agencies aware of the presence of sexual offenders, who are possible threats to the
personal safety and well-being of all Filipino citizens, especially women and children,
in every inch of the territory of the Philippines.


Section 3. Definition of Terms. For the purposes of this Act, the following shall

be defined as follows:

a) National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) refers to a national database which
shall contain the names and other pertinent details of sex offenders who
reside or sojourn in the country; and,

b) Sex offender refers any person convicted by the final judgment of:

a. Rape under Article 266 of the Revised Penal Code;

b. Crimes committed against chastity as defined under Book 2 Title XI
of the Revised Penal Code; or,

c. Violations of Section 5 (g) of Republic Act No. 9262, also known as
the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, as
amended, as well as other forms of sexual violence defined therein.

This term shall include persons convicted of final judgment before

foreign courts for the crimes of rape, sexual assault, acts of

lasciviousness, or other similar crimes involving sexual violence of
activity.

Section 4. Establishment of the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR).
The NSOR, which shall allow immediate information-sharing between local and
foreign jurisdictions, including law enforcement agencies, shall include the following
information for each sex offender, in addition to any other information that will be
deemed necessary for the proper registration and identification of sex offenders:

a. Full name and aliases;
. Permanent and present residential addresses;
. Employment history;
|. Fingerprints and DNA samples;
.. Complete criminal history;

Education information, if applicable; and,

. Recent photograph.

enmeaos

Convicted sex offenders, prior to being released from imprisonment, shall
register in each province, city, or municipality where they are residing, are employed,


or are studying. Sex offenders shall be required to regularly update the registration as
provided under Section 6 of this Act. Moreover, a sex offender who changes
residence, employment, or school shall update registration within ten (10) days from
the said change.

Section 5. Duration of inclusion in the Registry. Sex offenders convicted in
local and foreign courts shall remain on the registry for life and shall be required to
appear at least once a year. Moreover, sex offenders must verify their information in
person. Furthermore, the severity of their sexual offenses that was determined solely
by the court which convicted them, or lack thereof, shall not affect the duration of their
inclusion in the Registry.

Section 6. Accessibility of the Registry. The general public shall not have
access to the detailed information of the registered sex offender; however, a website
shall be made available to the public which will only include relevant information about
the sex offender, such as name, recent photograph, and the crime committed.

In addition to the NSOR, provincial local governments shall also be required to
maintain its own online registry which shall also be accessible to the general public.

Section 7. Public Information and Education. There shall be information and
education campaigns spearheaded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to raise public
awareness on the existence of the Registry and to instruct how to use it. The campaign
shall ensure that the procedures on how to use the Registry and the contents of the
website will be easily understood by the public.

Section 8. Penalties. Pursuant to this Act, sex offenders who shall knowingly
and wilfully fail to register or update their information as provided herein shall suffer
the penalty of one (1) to five (5) years of imprisonment and a fine of ten thousand
pesos (P10,000.00).

In the event that sex offenders who are unregistered or have outdated Registry
information commits another crime, regardless of nature, the penalty of five (5) to ten


(10) years of imprisonment and a fine of fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) shall be
imposed, in addition to the penalty imposed by reason of the crime committed.

Section 9. Department of Justice (DOJ) as the Implementing Agency. The
DOJ shall be mandated to create and maintain the necessary database, computer
system, and software that will establish the NSOR. The database, computer system,
and software shall be shared and distributed with the provincial government units for
the operation of a uniform registry and Internet websites.

Section 10. Appropriations. The funding necessary for the implementation of
this Act shall be included in the yearly budget allocation for the DOJ under the General
Appropriations Act.

Section 11. /mplementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (90) days
from the effectivity of this Act, the DOJ shall, in coordination with the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), promulgate the
rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this Act.

Section 12. Separability Clause. \f any part or provision of this Act is declared
invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected by such
declaration shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 13. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, ordinances, or
administrative circulars not consistent with any provision of this Act are hereby
repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen days (15)
after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general

circulation.

Approved,