The Tres Marias bills of Hontiveros are three pieces of legislative proposals to fight against sexual and gender-based discrimination.
Neophyte Senator Risa Hontiveros filed on Tuesday, November 22, the Tres Marias bills, the three pieces of legislative proposals to fight against sexual and gender-based discrimination, to protect women.
During a press conference, Senator Hontiveros said the bills include the Anti-Rape bill, Gender-Based Electronic Violence bill, and Anti-Sexual Harassment bill.
The Anti-Rape bill seeks to amend and modernize the current law on rape, also seeks to raise the age of consent from 18 to 12, emphasize the absent of consent as an essential element to establish and consummate the crime of rape.
The proposed legislation also pushes that when a person uses authority to realize his ill motives, it can add to the severity of the crime, as well as using rape as a hate crime or crime motivated by prejudice.
According to Hontiveros, the bill also seeks to revoke the “forgiveness clause” in the Revised Penal Code which provides that the offender will be cleared of criminal charges as long as he marries his victim of rape.
“Isa napakasahol na aspeto sa kasalukuyang batas ay kung magpakasal ang biktima sa nanggahasa sa kaniya ay napapawalang-sala ‘yung aggressor (one of the worst aspects of the current [rape] law is when the victim marries the one who raped her, the aggressor is cleared from any charges)”, Hontiveros said.
Moreover, the Anti-Sexual Harassment bill seeks to cover harassment between peers and between superiors and subordinates, as part of the amendment of the current law.
Meanwhile, the Gender-based Electronic Violence Bill lays out the legal options for women who are victims outside of the context of domestic or social violence.
However, Senator Hontiveros said that the Tres Marias bills have gaps, saying that the vacuum takes place when the nature of violence tends to disparage the person and identity of the victims because of his or her gender”.
Thus, even with the Tres Marias, discrimination is still there.
