THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
S.B. No. 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 2, Section 11, provides that: 
The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full 
respect for human rights. 
Men and women are raped and sexually brutalized in prisons throughout the 
country. Once subjected to sexual abuse, through violence or intimidation, a prisoner is 
easily trapped into a sexually subordinate role. Prisoners refer to the initial rape as "turning 
out" the victim, and the suggestion of transformation is telling. Through the act of rape, the 
.ips victim is redefined as an object of sexual abuse. A prisoner has been proven weak and 
vulnerable in the eyes of other inmates. 
Prisoners who are unable to escape a situation of sexual abuse may find themselves 
becoming another inmate's "property." Victims of prison rape, in the most extreme cases, 
are literally the slaves of the perpetrators. Forced to satisfy another person's sexual 
appetites whenever demanded of the victim, the victim may also be responsible for 
washing clothes, giving massages, cooking food, cleaning cells, and other myriad chores. 
The victims are frequently "rented out" for sex, sold, or even auctioned off to other 
inmates, replicating the financial aspects of traditional slavery. 
Prison rape is a serious human rights abuse that derails justice and destroys human 
dignity. This bill seeks to provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison 
rape and to provide information, resources, recommendations, and punishment to protect 
individuals from prison rape. 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO PROVIDE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE INCIDENCE AND EFFECTS 
OF PRISON RAPE AND TO PROVIDE IDFORMATION, 
RESOURCES, RECOMMENDATIONS, FUNDING, AND PUNISHMENT 
TO PROTECT INDIVIDUALS FROM PRISON RAPE 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Prison Rape 
Elimination Act.“ 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of state to value the dignity of 
every human person and guarantee full respect for human rights. 
SECTION 3. DeJinition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the term: 
(1) 
“Prison” means any confinement facility of national, city, provincial, and 
municipal, whether administered by such government or by a private 
organization on behalf of such government, and includes - 
(a) any local jail or police lockup; and 
(b) any juvenile facility used for the custody or care ofjuvenile inmates. 
“Jail” means a confinement facility of national, city, provincial, and 
municipal, or local law enforcement agency to bold - 
(2) 
(a) persons pending adjudication of criminal charges; or 
(b) persons committed to confinement after adjudication of criminal 
charges for sentences of one (1) year or less. 
(3) 
“Police lockup” means a temporary holding facility of national, city, 
provincial, and municipal, or local law enforcement agency to hold - 
(a) inmates pending bail or transport to jail; 


(b) inebriates until ready for release; or 
(c) juveniles pending parental custody. 
“Prison rape” is committed by an inmate, under any circumstances 
mentioned in paragraph 1 and 2, Article 266-A of Revised Penal Code, in 
the actual or constructive control of prison officials. 
“Inmate” means any person incarcerated or detained in any facility who is 
accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, 
violations of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole, probation, 
pretrial release, or diversionxy program. 
“Bureau” refers to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology 
“Panel” refers to the Review Panel on Prison Rape. 
“Prosecutor” refers to the Chief State Prosecutor 
SECTION 4. Puvposes. -The purposes of this Act are as follows: 
(1) 
To establish a zero-tolerance standard for the incidence of prison rape in 
prisons in the Philippines; 
(2) 
(3) 
To make the prevention of prison rape a top priority in each prison system; 
To develop and implement national standards for the detection, prevention, 
reduction, and punishment of prison rape; 
(4) 
To increase the available d ata and information on the incidence of prison 
and administration of correctional 
rape, consequently improving the management 
facilities; 
(5) 
To standardize the definitions used for collecting data on the incidence of 
prison rape; 
(6) 
To increase the accountability of prison officials who fail to detect, prevent, 
reduce, or punish prison rape. 
SECTION 5. Annual Comprehensive Statistical Review.- 
(1) 
IN GENERAL.- The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology shall carry 
out, for each calendar year, a comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the 


incidence and effects of prison rape. The statistical review and analysis shall include, but 
shall not be limited to the identification of the common characteristics of - 
(a) 
both victims and perpetrators ofprison rape; and 
(b) 
CONSIDERATIONS. - In carrying out paragraph (l), the Bureau shall 
prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape. 
(2) 
consider- 
(a) 
how the Bureau should collect information about staff-on-inmate 
sexual assault; 
(c) 
how the Bureau should collect information beyond inmate self- 
reports of prison rape; 
(d) 
how the Bureau should adjust the data in order to account for 
differences among prisons; 
(e) 
the categorization of prisons; 
(f) 
whether a preliminary study of prison rape should be conducted to 
inform the methodology of the comprehensive statistical review. 
(3) 
SOLICITATION OF VIEWS. - The Bureau shall solicit views from 
representatives of the following: Bureau of Correction, National Bilibid Prisons, Women’s 
Coreccional, and Municipal jails; Department of Social Welfare and Development; former 
inmates; victim of prison rape advocates; researchers; and other experts in the area of 
sexual assault. 
(4) 
SAMPLING TECHNIQUES. - The review and analysis under paragraph (1) 
shall be based on a random sample, or other scientifically appropriate sample, of not less 
than ten percent (10%) of National Bilibid Prisons, Women’s Correccional, City jails, 
provincial and municipal prisons. The selection shall include at least one (1) prison from 
each city or province. The selection of facilities for sampling shall be made at the latest 
practicable date prior to conducting the surveys and shall not be disclosed to any facility or 
prison system official prior to the time period studied in the survey. Selection of a facility 
for sampling during any year shall not preclude its selection for sampling in any subsequent 
year. 


(5) 
SURVEYS. - In carrying out the review and analysis under paragraph (l), 
the Bureau shall, in addition to such other methods as the Bureau considers appropriate, 
use surveys and other statistical studies of current and former inmates from a sample of 
municipal prisons. The Bureau shall ensure the confidentiality of each survey participant. 
SECTION 6. Review Panel on Prison Rape. - 
(1) 
ESTABLISHMENT. - There will be a Panel, established within the 
Department of Justice, to assist the Bureau in carrying out the review and analysis under 
Section 5 paragraph 1. 
(2) 
MEMBERSHIP. - 
(a) Composition. - The Panel shall be composed of three (3) members, each 
of whom shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice, in consultation with the Secretary 
of Health and the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development. 
(b) Qualifications .- Members of the Panel shall he selected from among 
individuals with knowledge or expertise in matters to be studied by the Panel. 
(3) 
PUBLIC HEARINGS. - 
(a) IN GENERAL. - The duty of the Panel shall he to carry out, for each 
calendar year, public hearings concerning the operation of the three (3) provincial and 
municipal prisons with the highest incidence of prison rape and the two (2) prisons with the 
lowest incidence of prison rape. The Panel shall hold a separate hearing regarding the three 
(3) city, provincial or municipal prisons with the highest incidence of prison rape. The 
purpose of these hearings shall be to collect evidence to aid in the identification of common 
characteristics of both victims and perpetrators of prison rape, and the identification of 
common characteristics of prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape, 
and the identification of common characteristics of prisons and prison systems that appear 
to have been successful in deterring prison ;ape. 
(b) Testimony at hearings.- 
(i) Public officials.- In carrying out the 
hearings required under 
subparagraph (c), the Panel shall request the public testimony of city, provincial and local 
officials, including the warden or director of each prison, who bears responsibility for the 


prevention, detection, and punishment of prison rape at each entity, and the head of the 
prison system encompassing such prison. 
(ii) Victims. - The Panel may request the testimony of prison rape 
victims, organizations, representing such victims, and other appropriate individuals and 
organizations. 
(c) Subpoenas. - 
(i) Issuance. - The Panel may issue subpoenas for the attendance of 
witnesses and the production of documents or other matters. 
(ii) Enforcement. - In the case of contumacy or rehsal to obey a 
subpoena, the Secretary of Justice may in a court of appropriate jurisdiction obtain an 
appropriate order to enforce the subpoena. 
(4) 
=PORTS.- 
(a) Deadline. - Not later than June 30 of each year, the Secretary of Justice 
shall submit a report on the activities of the Bureau and the Panel, with respect to prison 
rape, for the preceding calendar year to - 
(i) Congress; 
(ii) Secretary of Health and 
(iii) Secretary of Social Welfare and Development 
(b) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall include- 
(i) with respect to the effects of prison rape, statistical, sociological, and 
psychological data; 
(ii) with respect to the incidence of prison rape- 
(aa) statistical data aggregated at the National, City, Provincial 
prison system, and prison levels; 
(bb) a listing of those institutions in the representative sample, 
ranked according to 
separated into each category identified under subsection (c)(6) and 
the incidence of prison rape in each institution; and 
(cc) an identification of those institutions in the representative 
sample that appear to have been successful in deterring prison rape; and 
(dd) 
a listing of any prisons in the representative sample that did 


not cooperate with the survey conducted pursuant to Section 6. 
(5) DATA ADJUSTMENTS. - In preparing the information specified in paragraph 
(2), the Prosecutor shall use established statistical methods to adjust the data as necessary 
to account for differences among institutions in the representative sample, which are not 
related to the detection, prevention, reduction and punishment of prison rape, or which are 
outside the control of the State, prison, or prison system, in order to provide an accurate 
comparison among prisons. Such differences may include the mission, security level, size, 
and jurisdiction under which the prison operates. For each such adjustment made, the 
Attorney General shall identify and explain such adjustment in the report. 
(6) CATEGORIZATION OF PRISONS. - The report shall divide the prisons 
surveyed into three (3) categories. One category shall be composed of all national and local 
prisons. The other two categories shall be defined by the Prosecutor in order to compare 
similar institutions. 
(7) Contracts and Grants.--In carrying out its duties under this section, the 
Prosecutor may-- 
(1) provide grants for research through the Department of Justice; 
(2) contract with or provide grants to any other entity the Prosecutor deems 
appropriate. 
SECTION I .  Prison Rape Prevention And Prosecution - 
(1) INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE. - 
(a) National clearinghouse. - There will be a National Clearinghouse established 
within the National Bilibid Prisons and Women’s Correccional a for the 
provision of information and assistance to local authorities responsible for the 
prevention, investigation, and punishment of instances of prison rape. 
(b) Training and education. - The National Bilibid Prisons and Women’s 
Correccional shall conduct periodic training and education programs for 
national, city, provincial and local authorities responsible for the prevention, 
investigation, and punishment of instances of prison rape. 


(2) REPORTS, - 
(a) IN G m R A L .  -Not later than September 30 of each year, the National Bilibid 
Prisons and Women’s Correccional shall submit a report to Congress and the Secretary of 
Health. This report shall be available to the Director of the Bureau. 
(b) CONTENTS. - The report required under paragraph (1) shall summarize the 
activities of the Department of Justice regarding prison rape abatement for the preceding 
calendar year. 
(3) PENALTY. - The prosecution for Prison Rape is equivalent to the penalty imposed in 
rape with aggravating/qualifylng circumstances under the Republic Act No. 8353 or 
otherwise known as “The Anti-Rape Law of 1997.” 
SECTION 8. Grants To Protect Inmates And Safeguayd Communities - 
(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED. - From amounts made available for grants under this 
section, the Prosecutor shall make grants to assist the national, city, provincial, and 
municipal in ensuring that budgetary circumstances (such as reduced national and local 
spending on prisons) do not compromise efforts to protect inmates (particularly from prison 
rape) and to safeguard the communities to which inmates return. The purpose o f grants 
under this s ection shall b e to provide funds for p ersonnel, training, technical assistance, 
data collection, and equipment to prevent and prosecute prisoner rape. 
(2) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS. - Amounts received by a grantee under this section 
may be used by the grantee, directly or through subgrants, only for one or more of the 
following activities: 
(a) Protecting inmates.--Protecting inmates by- 
(i) undertaking efforts to more effectively prevent prison rape; 
(ii) investigating incidents of prison rape; or 
(iii) prosecuting incidents of prison rape. 
(b) Safeguarding communities.--Safeguarding communities by- 
(i) making available, to officials of national and local governments who are 
considering reductions to prison budgets, training and technical assistance in 
successful methods for moderating the growth of prison populations without compromising 
public safety, including successful methods used by other jurisdictions; 


(ii) developing and utilizing analyses of prison populations and risk assessment 
instruments that will improve national and local governments' understanding of risks to the 
community regarding release of inmates in the prison population; 
(iii) preparing maps demonstrating the concentration, on a community-by- 
community basis, of inmates who have been released, to facilitate the efficient and 
effective - 
(aa) deployment of law enforcement resources (including probation and 
parole resources); and 
(bb) delivery of services (such as job training and substance abuse 
treatment) to those released inmates; 
(iv) promoting collaborative efforts, among officials of National and local 
governments and leaders of appropriate communities, to understand and address the 
effects on a community of the presence of a disproportionate number of released inmates in 
that community; or 
(v) developing policies and programs that reduce spending on prisons by 
effectively reducing rates of parole and probation revocation without compromising 
public safety. 
(3) GRANT REQUIREMENTS. - 
(a) Period. - A grant under this section shall be made for a period of not more than 
two (2) years. 
@) Amount. - The amount of a grant under this Section shall be appropriated from 
the National Treasury. 
(c) Matching. - The National share of a grant under this section should not exceed 
fifty percent (50%) of the total costs of the project described in the application submitted 
under subsection. 
(d) for the fiscal year for which the grant was made under this section. 
(4) APPLICATIONS. - 
(a) IN GENERAL. - To request a grant under this section, the chief executive of a 
City, Province, and Municipality shall submit an application to the Prosecutor at such time, 
in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Prosecutor may require. 


(b) CONTENTS. - Each application required by paragraph (1) shall- 
(i) include the certification of the chief executive that the city, provincial, or 
municipal receiving such grant- 
(aa) has adopted all national prison rape standards that, as of the date on 
which the application was 
submitted, have been promulgated 
under this Act; and 
(bb) will consider adopting all national prison rape standards that are 
promulgated under this A t after such date; 
(ii) specify with particularity L 
e preventative, prosecutorial, or administrative 
activities to be undertake by the State with the amounts received under 
the grant; and 
I 
(iii) in the case of an application for a grant for one or more activities 
specified in paragraph (2) of subsection (b)- 
(aa) review the extent of the budgetary circumstances affecting the 
national generally; 
(bb) describe the rate of growth of the national, city, provincial, and 
municipal prison population over the preceding 10 years and explain why 
the national may have difficulty sustaining that rate of growth; and 
(cc) explain the extent to which officials (including law enforcement 
officials) of national and local governments and victims of crime will be 
consulted regarding decisions whether, or how, to moderate the growth of 
the national, city, provincial and municipal prison population. 
(5) REPORTS BY GRANTEE. - 
(a) IN GENERAL. - The Prosecutor shall require each grantee to submit, not later 
than ninety (90) days after the end of the period for which the grant was made under this 
Section, a report on the activities carried out under the grant. The report shall identify and 
describe those activities and shall contain an evaluation of the effect of those activities 
on- 
(i) the number of incidents of prison rape, and the grantee's response to such 
incidents; and 


(ii) the safety of the prisons, and the safety of the communities in which 
released inmates are present. 
(2) Dissemination. -The Prosecutor shall ensure that each report submitted under 
paragraph (1) is made available under the national clearinghouse established 
under Section 7. 
SECTION 9. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount 
as may be necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated &om the National Treasury. 
SECTION 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 11. 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 12. Eflectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days afler 
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
IAtty. A. Paulino 
J.P.A.