A Valentine's Day warning: Making sex videos may soon be criminalized

MANILA, Philippines - Lovers better not get carried away on Valentine's Day. They may end up being victims of sex videos whose taking and possession may soon be criminalized, if a bill seeking such is approved by Congress. In a statement on Thursday, Buhay Rep. Irwin Tieng, principal author of the "Anti Cyber-Boso" bill, warned lovers against being "too trustful" of their partners as many cases his office has monitored showed that individuals who spread sex videos over the Internet or via Bluetooth do so to revenge or to blackmail their lovers. "Your lover today may be your blackmailer tomorrow," Tieng said. He added that in some cases, motel operators or their staff members were found to be behind the taping of indecent video clips. House Bill No. 4315, which has been passed by the House committee on Justice, criminalizes the recording of "private act or acts and other violations of the privacy of an individual" using mobile phones or video cameras. The bill also penalizes the mere possession of such "video tape, disc record" and "replay" or "share, relay or exhibit the contents thereof in any form." Under the bill, which was co-authored by fellow Buhay Representatives Rene Velarde and Ma. Carissa Coscolluela, a penalty of up to six years imprisonment and a fine of up to P500,000 may be imposed for those involved in filming sexual videos. Tieng said violations of the proposed measure, if it were passed into a law, would be considered a "crime against person," meaning anybody can file a case against the culprit. - Jam Sisante, GMANews.TV