The Senate Committees have approved the proposal to increase the statutory rape age to 16.

The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality approved the proposed measure on Thursday (October 10). Aside from the increase in the statutory rape age, the age for sexual consent was also raised from 12 to 16.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, one of the authors of the bill, said it is time to amend the law especially due to the increase of sexual violence cases among children.

“As legislators, we need to ensure that our children are protected and that we set measures that will mitigate if not totally eradicate these alarming cases and statistics on sexual violence against children and teenage pregnancies,” Zubiri said.

The Philippines currently has the age of sexual consent at 12 which is the lowest in Asia and among the lowest in the world. -AAC (with reports from Harlene Delgado)

Close to five proposed bills had been filed in the Senate that seek to amend the age covered under statutory rape in the Philippines.

Under the Anti-Rape Law of 1997, statutory rape occurs when a child age 12 or below engages in sexual intercourse, be it with consent or coerced.

Under the existing law, children under 12 do not have the capacity to give consent.

This prompted Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri to file a bill seeking to increase the age from 12 to 15 years old.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s version, on the other hand, wants to elevate it to 18 years old.

Gatchalian said the age of majority in the Philippines is 18, when an individual can enter into a contract and begin to enjoy the right to vote.

“Consequently, the age of majority should also be considered as the proper age in terms of giving sexual consent,” he added.

Gatchalian believes that increasing the statutory rape age to 18 will address the prostitution problem among young people.

In other countries such as the United States, the legal age of consent is between 16 and 18.

And like Canada and Australia, the Philippines set the age of consent to 16.

Meanwhile, the Center for Women’s Resources said more than 52,000 rape and attempted rape cases had been recorded from 2005 to 2014.

A very significant number of this (75%) have children as victims.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, on the other hand, showed that between 2012 and 2014, rape cases in the country were on the uphill.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development, meanwhile, said of the more than 2,000 cases of child abuse recorded, 539 were done sexually.

The lawmakers believe that it is high time to amend the law to further protect the youth, especially young children, from abuse. (from the report of Nel Maribojoc) /mbmf

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday assured it is now working with Kuwaiti authorities for the arrest of a police officer accused of raping a Filipina worker in Kuwait.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, is closely coordinating with Kuwaiti authorities for the speedy arrest of the suspect in the rape case involving a Filipina household service worker in Kuwait,” the agency said in a statement.

The suspect was identified as Fayed Naser Hamad Alajmy, 22.

According to Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Mohd Noordin Lomondot, Alajmy was identified as the one who assisted the Filipina worker for finger scanning registration at the airport when she arrived in Kuwait on June 4.

It was alleged that Alajmy later kidnapped and assaulted the victim.

Lomondot said a warrant of arrest has already been issued against the suspect.

The OFW’s employer is also cooperating with the embassy and local authorities in connection with the case.

“The Philippine Government will exert all efforts to ensure that justice is served,” the DFA said.