Press Release - Sen. Robin Bill Gives 'Bawal Bastos' Act More Teeth vs Sexual Harassment

A bill by Sen. Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla aims to give more teeth to the Bawal Bastos (Safe Spaces Act) of 2019, by proposing stiffer penalties against violators.

Padilla on Wednesday filed Senate Bill 2810, which also increases the prescriptive period for filing a complaint from the current five years to 10 years.

"(T)recent public hearings of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media revealed that sexual harassment in the workplace remains active and rampant. It was further observed that employers, particularly large corporations, could easily evade compliance with their obligations under the Safe Spaces Act given the grossly small amount of applicable fines," Padilla said in his bill.

In his bill, Padilla sought to amend the Safe Spaces Act of 2019 with heavier penalties including:

* A fine of P100,000 to P300,000 for an employer's failure to take proper measures to combat gender-based sexual harassment, or failure to create an internal mechanism or a committee on decorum (from the current P5,000 to P10,000 fine); and

* A fine of P300,000 to P500,000 for the employer's failure to act upon sexual harassment complaints, from the current penalty of P10,000 to P15,000.

Padilla also introduced an amendment to the 2019 law to include an automatic award of exemplary damages in the amount of P300,000 in the event of conviction.

"Finally, recognizing the stigma and social exclusion that go together with coping with the trauma caused by sexual harassment, this measure likewise seeks to increase the prescriptive period for filing a compliant from five (5) years to ten (10) years," he said.

Bill ni Sen. Robin, Dadagdagan ang Ngipin ng 'Bawal Bastos' Act vs Sexual Harassment

Magkakaroon ng karagdagang ngipin ang "Bawal Bastos" (Safe Spaces Act) of 2019, kung magiging batas ang panukalang ihinain ni Sen. Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla nitong Miyerkules.

Bukod sa mas malaking multa, isinusulong ng Senate Bill 2810 ang mas mahabang prescriptive period para sa pag-file ng complaint na 10 taon, mula sa kasalukuyang limang taon.

"(T)he recent public hearings of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media revealed that sexual harassment in the