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IN THE NEWS... GORDON TO ELIMINATE DOUBLE Senator Richard J. Gordon filed separate bills, amending the crimes of adultery and concubinage under the Revised Penal Code into marital infidelity for both sexes to eliminate the double standard between husband and wife.
Source : Senate of the Philippines, Press Release, Sept, 2007 CAYETANO TO DOH: FAMILY PLANNING SHOULD REMAIN A PRIORITY
Responsible parenthood requires access to services and information on family planning. The state has no business intervening in couples' decisions on the number of children they want, but it is the state's obligation to provide them with necessary information and services on family planning methods to help them make informed choices. On this note, Senator Pia S. Cayetano warned the Department of Health (DOH) against placing family planning at the bottom of its priorities, saying the government cannot just shut its eyes to the ballooning population problem. "The country has reason to be seriously alarmed if 1.8 million are added to the Philippine population every year, and their chances of being fed, clothed and educated are slim. A big population is not necessarily a negative thing, but it is government's duty to nurture that growing population." Currently there are 88.7 million Filipinos, up from 76.5 million seven years ago when the last national census was conducted. Seven years from now, there will be 100 million Filipinos at an explosive growth rate of 2.36% per year. "Around 206 babies are born per hour, that's three babies per minute. These facts are simply too hard to ignore and it would be a great disservice if the DOH decides to leave couples in the dark on vital information on family planning and responsible parenthood," said Cayetano, citing figures from the National Statistics Office. Senator Cayetano, recently reappointed chairperson of the Senate Committee Health and Demography, issued the statement in reaction to Secretary Francisco Duque's pronouncement that the DOH would be prioritizing maternal health care, while pushing for family planning merely as a "complementary strategy" for the segment of women who need it. "With all due respect to the health secretary, I don't think a conflict should exist at all between maternal health and family planning. Both are intrinsically related and fall within the ambit of reproductive health," she explained. "While I strongly support the initiative to arrest the problem of high maternal deaths, now one of the worst in Southeast Asia, I don't think this should be ranged against efforts to also promote both natural family planning methods and contraceptives, especially among poor women." Stressing her point further, she said women who have access to information on reproductive health and family planning methods would naturally face lesser risks of complications and death when giving birth. Based on census figures, only half of married women are using family planning methods. On the other hand, the bottom 20 percent of women have no access to information on family planning at all.
VILLAR ON WHAT WOMEN NEED: PROTECTION VS VIOLENCE; HEALTHCARE BENEFITS AND LIVELIHOOD In keeping with his advocacies for women, Senate President Manny Villar says that what Filipino women of today really need include more comprehensive healthcare benefits, consistent protection against violence, and a sustainable source of livelihood. Just like every human being, women need to have their most basic needs met. If we provide them with livelihood, healthcare benefits and protectionwe have directly or indirectly met their basic needs such as food, shelter, good health, job and safety. With all these, they are set for life, cites Villar, President of the Nacionalista Party.
Villar is particularly alarmed over the growing incidence of violence against women and their children. This is the topic of the advocacy campaign that Villar did in coordination with womens groups Gabriela and Teodora of the Couples For Christ. A report released by UN Population Fund (UNFPA) recently cites that at least one in every five women will become a victim of rape and one out of three will be subjected to violence and sexual abuse in her life span. The report also cited that violence kills many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as much as common terminal diseases such as cancer. In the Philippines, based on police records, an average of 20 cases of violence against women are reported every day. It is estimated that more crimes are not reported. Villar, under Senate Bill 613 or the Womens Medical and Hospitalization Benefits Act, also seeks for the provision of free medical and hospitalization benefits to indigent Filipino women suffering from womens diseases such as cancer of the reproductive organ or of the breast; pregnancy-related diseases; and illnesses or injuries caused by violence inflicted on them. Villar also filed Senate Bill 620 to provide literacy program for all expectant mothers in all public and private hospitals, clinics, health centers and other similar establishments rendering maternity services. Women, mothers in particular, play a very important role in molding the minds of the children or the future leaders of our society. Thus, it is but proper to equip them with appropriate skills and knowledge to be effective as our childrens first teacher, cites Villar. Encompassing both the healthcare benefits and literacy program for women, Villars Senate Bill 622 proposes the establishment of the Office of Research on Womens Health, which shall conduct comprehensive or extensive research and studies on womens health and shall provide the appropriate quality care to women. HOUSE COMMITTEE TACKLES BILLS PROMOTING PARITY RIGHTS BETWEEN WIFE AND HUSBAND
This is the objective of five legislative measures which were tackled in a recent joint meeting of the Committee on Revision of Laws and the Special Committee on Millennium Development Goals, respectively chaired by Representatives Orlando Fua Jr. (Siquijor) and Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz (6th District, Cebu). The bills establish the legal framework that will assure the equality of husband and wife in the eyes of the law, particularly with regard to their property relations and to the administration of justice in case of “marital infidelity.” The first measure, which was approved by the two Committees, is House Bill 370 filed by Rep. Roseller Barinaga (2nd District, Zamboanga del Norte). It seeks to assure parity rights between spouses in the ownership, administration, enjoyment and disposition of community property or conjugal partnership gains. The bill, in effect, amends Article 96 of Chapter 3, Title IV of the Family Code. Rep. Barinaga explained that the said provision of the Family Code is being perceived as gender-discriminatory because it provides that in the event the husband and wife cannot agree on the modality of administration of community or conjugal property, the husband’s decision prevails and it behooves upon the wife to go to court to question the decision. He said this provision “defeats the purpose of the law which is to equalize the rights of husband and wife.” The bill provides that in case of disagreement on the administration and enjoyment of the community property or conjugal partnership gains, it shall be the decision of the spouse from whose resources or efforts the major portion or value of the property is derived from that shall prevail. The other four measures discussed by the joint Committee are HBs 334, 810, 1017 and 2238, respectively authored by Reps. Imee Marcos (2nd District, Ilocos Norte), Harlin Cast. Abayon (1st District, Northern Samar), Liza Maza (Party List, Gabriela) and Emmanuel Joel Villanueva (Party List, CIBAC). The bills seek to correct the gender bias evident in Articles 333 and 334 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to the crimes of adultery and concubinage, respectively. UNEQUAL TREATMENT
The authors are one in saying that the said penal provisions impart unequal treatment of wives and husbands. Under Article 333, a wife can be convicted of adultery for a single act of sexual intercourse with a man not her husband, they said. On the other hand, under Article 334, a husband may only be convicted of concubinage if the act is committed in either of three ways: by keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, by having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman who is not his wife, or cohabiting with her in any other place. Moreover, the wife convicted of adultery is meted a heavier penalty than a husband found guilty of concubinage, the lawmakers added. MARITAL INFIDELITY The bills propose to merge these offenses into a single crime of marital infidelity and impose on the sexual partner the same penalty meted on the guilty spouse. In effect, they also seek to amend Article 344 of the Revised Penal Code, which identifies the lawful complainant in such crimes. Marital infidelity, under the bills, is committed by any married person who shall have sexual intercourse with a person other than his or her spouse; or by a person who has carnal knowledge or who cohabits with another, knowing him or her to be married. HB 1017 adds in the definition the phrase “under scandalous circumstances,” referring to the act of sexual intercourse. Rep. Maza’s HB 1017 also seeks to define and penalize “the act of maintaining a paramour,” in place of the crime of concubinage. As defined in the bill, a paramour refers to “any person who cohabits with a married person of either sex under circumstances where they assume and exercise toward each other the rights and privileges which properly belong to persons married to each other.” On the other hand, Rep. Villanueva’s HB 2238 seeks to impose a harsher penalty on public officers and employees who commit marital infidelity. CONSTITUTIONAL BASES During the joint meeting, State Counsel Wilberto Tolitol said the Department of Justice (DOJ) maintains that there is no disparity in purpose and in presentation between the proposed amendments and the existing law (Revised Penal Code). He explained that the purpose of said penal provisions is “to avoid doubtful paternity in the family and conflict in successional rights.” Nonetheless, Tolitol said the proposed amendments to the Code have constitutional bases. First, he said, is the constitutional mandate of ensuring the fundamental equality before the law of men and women. He explained that the present law requires different sets of evidence for the prosecution of adultery and concubinage. “(These) can be fused into one,” he averred. SANCTITY OF FAMILY Second, the State Counsel mentioned the constitutional provision on the protection of the sanctity of the family as the basic social institution. Thus, the need to punish marital infidelity. Jennifer Mascarina of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) also expressed her organization’s support for the bills because they will rectify gender inequality in the penal provisions. The NCRFW representative recommended the imposition of the penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period on the offending spouse who maintains a mistress or lover in the conjugal dwelling. The guilty spouse’s paramour should be meted the same penalty, she added. However, Mascarina suggested that ignorance of the marital status of the erring spouse should extinguish the criminal liability of the paramour. She also agreed with the proposed amendment in HB 2238 to hold Muslims and members of indigenous peoples whose practices, customs and traditions allow multiple spouses liable for marital infidelity if they engage in sexual intercourse with any person other than their spouses. Lawyer Claire Yuson of the Women’s Legal Education Advocacy and Defense Foundation also believes that Articles 333 and 334 must be stricken out from the Revised Penal Code, as they are oppressive and violative of basic human rights. "INFIDELITY TO VOWS" However, she took exception to the premise which exclusively confines marital infidelity to sexual intercourse outside of marriage, and disregarding the other types of infidelity such as “infidelity to vows” or “infidelity to love.” Marital infidelity anchored on the first type only warrants civil liability, she claimed. There is also a need to define the terms “scandalous circumstances” and “cohabitation,” she added. These words are included in the definition of marital infidelity. Meanwhile, responding to the question of Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon (Muntinlupa City), Rep. Marcos explained that the term “carnal knowledge” covers acts that do not fall squarely under the phrase “sexual intercourse.” It covers same-sex acts and other sexual deviations, she explained. Source: Committee Administrative Support Service, Committee Affairs Department
THE MANILA TIMES FEATURE
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Last Updated: 24 February 2008 2003 Femalebattle.net |
