‘Women’s honor’ doctrine still holds, says UP law prof

A criminal law professor on Tuesday said the "women's honor" doctrine still holds even as a division of the Supreme Court (SC) veered away from it as it acquitted two rape convicts due to questions on the integrity of their accuser's testimony.

Augusto Arreza, a professor at the University of the Philippines' College of Law, said the SC Third Division's remarks that the "Maria Clara" mindset is no longer applicable in the present day "does not have anything to do with the decision."

He interpreted this portion of the ruling as an "obiter dictum," Latin for "by the way," or an expression of an opinion with no binding force.

Arreza said the ruling came about after a "dissection" of the testimony of the complainant to ascertain its credibility.

"You have to remember the doctrine is based on the presumption that the testimony of the offended party, the victim, is credible. If the testimony is not credible, you don't even have to apply the 'women's honor' doctrine," he said in a phone interview.

The doctrine in question refers to the jurisprudence-backed notion that a woman will not say she has been sexually abused unless it is true out of a "natural instinct" to "protect her honor."

Earlier sought for confirmation, SC spokesperson Theodore Te said the ruling "speaks for itself."

He also said the ruling must be read in relation with a Constitutional provision that states a doctrine made by the court en banc can only be modified or reversed by the court en banc, with all its 15 members voting.

The Third Division is composed of five justices.

On January 17, the high tribunal through the Third Division acquitted Juvy Amarela and Junard Racho after it found discrepancies in the circumstances of the alleged rape in 2009 as narrated by the complainant in her testimony.

It reversed and set aside the damning ruling of a Davao City regional trial court in 2012, as well as the Court of Appeals decision that upheld it in 2016.

Notably, the decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel Martires said the tribunal can no longer abide by the 58-year-old "women's honor" doctrine as it cannot be "stuck to the Maria Clara stereotype a demure and reserved Filipino woman."

“We should stay away from such a mindset and accept the realities of a woman’s dynamic role in society today; she who has over the years transformed into a strong and confidently intelligent and beautiful person, willing to fight for her rights,” it said.

It said this "misconception" "puts the accused at an unfair advantage" and "creates a travesty of justice."

Women's group Gabriela has criticized this part of Martires' decision, saying that it "flies in the face of actual rise of reported and unreported rapes, sexual harassment, bullying, trafficking, and other crimes against women."

It also said that its reason for overturning the rape conviction will "open the floodgates to many more rapes, emboldening perpetrators who will abuse more women with impunity, as they can now go on rampage with the knowledge that courts will most likely dismiss rape cases."

Rights group Amnesty International said that the decision will make it more difficult for rape victims to come forward. — BM, GMA News