Friday, November 23, 2007 New law on marital infidelity junked By Grace L. Plata
A GENDER rights group official denounced House Bill 999 filed by Representative Emmanual Joel Villanueva and House Bill 1820 filed by Representatives Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan, saying they have no place in Philippine penal laws.
"If I were a lawyer who is out to enrich myself, I would probably say, go ahead and support the marital infidelity bills," said lawyer Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of EnGendeRights Inc., in her legal opinion of House Bill 999. The bill is an act defining and penalizing marital infidelity amending for the purpose Articles 333, 334 and 344 of the Revised Penal Code.
Padilla said HB 999 and HB 1820 seek to repeal the adultery and concubinary provisions of the Revised Penal Code and then impose a new crime called "marital infidelity" which equalizes the penalties for marital infidelity.
"The reason why lawyers who are out to enrich themselves would do this is because the effect of such a law is indeed the deluge of cases that will be filed by estranged husbands who are out there to perpetually harass their wives who have left them for a more suitable partner. Mind you, it would be the batterer husbands and those who have sought to control their wives who would line up to file these cases and not the ones who respect their wives' freedoms," Padilla said.
According to Padilla, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) provides for equality and non-discrimination of women but she added that equality in law does not simply mean equalizing the penalties for certain crimes for both women and men and not especially for "marital infidelity" cases.
"The essence of Cedaw provides for substantive equality such that the effect of laws would not discriminate against women. Equalizing the penalty for marital infidelity cases would discriminate women since the reality is that most marital infidelity cases are filed by men rather than women - more men still have more money than women and men use these marital infidelity cases against their wives as a form of abuse and torture on their wives," Padilla said.
Padilla said in many countries around the world, the criminal provisions imposed on adultery have already been repealed.
"The intended purpose of the criminal provision on adultery under the Revised Penal Code (circa 1932 and directly translated from the old Spanish Penal Code) is to protect the rights of real heirs. Many adultery cases, however, are filed by estranged husbands who have long been separated from their wives and who have no intention to reunite with their wives nor do they have any intention to support the illegitimate child of their wives," she said.
Padilla, who has spent 13 years of her professional career advocating women's rights, said adultery, concubinage, and marital infidelity cases do not have any place in Philippine law.
"On the contrary, these cases continue to perpetuate abuse in the family and impose torment on the children. The transitory years of the young children's lives are put to waste since their parents are constantly feuding. If the husband and wife cannot be together, then they should nullify the marriage. This is also why we are advocating for divorce so as not to subject the grounds to divorce on the differing interpretations of judges, psychiatrists, and psychologists," she said.
Marital infidelity cases, according to Padilla, also infringe upon one's right to have sexual relations with whom they want to and when they want to.
This is the commitment of the Philippines under the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action and the obligation of the Philippines under Cedaw and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The lady lawyer appeals to lawmakers to move for the repeal of laws on adultery and concubinage and certainly not pass any new law on marital infidelity.
