New PH Law: Age of Sexual Consent Now 16 As Signed by Duterte

by Alexa Villano
March 9, 2022

A day before International Women’s Day, Malacañang announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure that raises sexual consent to 16 years old. Those who had non-consensual sex with 16-year-olds can be held criminally liable for rape.

Duterte officially signed Republic Act No. 116481 as “an act of providing stronger protection against rape and sexual abuse, increasing the age for determining the commission of statutory rape.”

Under the law, individuals who have carnal knowledge with minors below 16 can exempt themselves. Provided, they need to prove that the relationship was “consensual, non-abusive, and non-exploitative.” The law does not apply however those below 13.

With the new implementation, the law also amended RA No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.

The importance of the new law

The new law against rape and sexual abuse comes after the previous law states the minimum age for sexual consent was 12 years old in the country. Back then, the world saw it as the youngest throughout the Southeast Asia Region. Some rapists may have used it as a loophole to attack younger girls with most of them keeping their attacks within the family.

This law is one of the latest Duterte signs in the protection of women and children. Back in January, he also signed Act 11596 or known as the “An Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage and Imposing Penalties Thereof. However, it was only enacted into law after several pushes by non-goverment organizations and children’s rights activists.