Senator Christopher “Bong” Go lauded the enactment of Republic Act No. 11648, which raises the age for determining statutory rape from “below 12 years old” to “below 16 years old”, as an important step in the fight against sexual violence and exploitation.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the measure into law on March 4, 2022.

Statutory rape refers to sexual relations involving a person below the legal age of sexual consent.

The amendment to the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 is in keeping with the recommendation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to determine a more appropriate age for sexual consent. Before this, a child as young as 12 years old in the country can legally engage in consensual sex, making this the lowest in Southeast Asia and one of the lowest in the world. The age of sexual consent in most other countries ranges from 14 to 18 years old.

“I am calling on all concerned agencies to take the necessary steps to combat rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Walang tigil dapat ang pamahalaan sa pagpoprotekta sa kapakanan ng mga kabataan, lalung-lalo na ngayong panahon ng pandemya. Ang mga kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan kaya patuloy sana nating gawin ang lahat upang proteksyunan sila,” said Go.

“Sa mga kabataan naman, kung may kailangan kayo, lapitan niyo lang ang aming mga opisina. Nandirito ang gobyerno para tulungan kayo,” he vowed.

With the new law, sexual intercourse with a child below the age of 16 is automatically regarded as rape. The law, however, clarifies that there is no criminal liability if the age difference between the parties is not more than three years and the sexual act is consensual, non-abusive and non-exploitative. The exception will not apply if the victim is under 13 years old.

The age of minor victims of other related crimes are also increased, including: qualified and simple seduction (16 to under 18 years); child prostitution and other sexual abuse (under 16 years); child trafficking (under 16 years); obscene publications and indecent shows (under 18 years); and other acts of neglect, abuse, cruelty or exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to the child’s development (16 years or under).

The Act also mandates the Department of Education to include age-appropriate subjects concerning the rights and protection of the children in its basic education curriculum.

“Mariin po nating tinututulan ang pang-aabuso sa ating mga kabataan. Siguraduhin natin na naiimplementa ang mga batas na poprotekta sa ating kabataan. Kung kailangan taasan ang parusa o higpitan pa lalo ang ating mga patakaran ay gawin natin para maitigil ang ganitong pang-aabuso,” appealed Go.

To further strengthen the protective measures against child sexual abuse, Go also filed Senate Bill No. 1650 in 2020 which seeks to amend R.A. No. 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act”.

The bill aims to amend Section 5(b) of the Anti-Child Abuse Law by increasing the penalty for persons engaging in lascivious conduct with minors under 12 years of age from reclusion temporal in its medium period (from 14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months) to reclusion perpetua (20 years and one day to a maximum of 40 years).

Go also filed SBN 1649 or the Bureau of Immigration Modernization Act of 2020, which aims to strengthen and upgrade the immigration system by providing an improved system of documentation and updating the prescribed procedures and requirements for admitting immigrants.

Relevantly, the bill prohibits the entry of pedophiles, sexual perverts and persons engaged in prostitution into the country. It also denies entry to foreign nationals convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or suspected to be engaged in human trafficking.

In 2021, the Department of Justice received over 2.8 million reports of online child sexual abuse, double the 1.3 million figure it recorded the previous year. The UN Children’s Fund has identified the Philippines as the “global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade”.

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