De Lima files bill seeking to raise statutory age of rape to 18

FILE: Opposition Senator Leila de Lima (Photo: Leila De Lima/ Facebook)

To protect young people from all kinds of sexual exploitation and abuse, Senator Leila de Lima filed a bill seeking to increase the age of sexual consent from 12 to 18 years old.

In filing Senate Bill No. 1949, the opposition senator believed that raising the age of consent will help boost the protection of children, particularly against the crime of rape.

“It is vital to delineate childhood from adulthood, and to take a second look at the choices we allow our children, despite the scarcity of their experience and wisdom to independently take,” de Lima said on Thursday, August 30.

“In increasing the age of consent to 18 years old, the State is sending a message – loud and clear – the youth will be protected by all means and at all costs,” she added.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 8353 or the 1997 Anti-Rape Law, rape is committed against a victim who is under 12 years old or is demented. But the senator said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) finds the country’s age of sexual consent ‘alarming’ because it is one of the lowest in the world and in the region.

“It is imperative that we look into the realities that surround the Filipino youth,” de Lima stressed.

She also noted that a 12-year-old is not knowledgeable enough about sexual intercourse due to the lack of sex education.

“Allowing our children at the tender age of 12 years old to decide on their own whether the time is proper to engage in sexual intercourse would be like abandoning them blindfold in a tunnel of mazes,” the former Justice Secretary said.

“In putting the age of consent on the same level as that of the age of majority, the State would safeguard the innocence of the youth, prevent sexual predators from deflowering our children, and finally put premium on the virtue of the hope of this nation,” she continued.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) recently reported that President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, Davao City, registered the highest number of rape cases, which is at 42, from April to June 2018. It was followed by Quezon City with 41 cases, Manila with 32, Cagayan de Oro with 24, and Zamboanga City with 21.