House approves harsher penalties for catcalling, other forms of street harassment

The House of Representatives has approved a bill that sets harsher penalties for catcalling and other forms of street harassment, ranging from 30 days in jail on top of a P30,000 fine to a six-year prison term and a P500,000 fine.

According to a report by GMA News' Ivan Mayrina on “24 Oras,” the acts punishable under the new law include:

• catcalling
• staring
• repeated comments on the physical attributes of the person and joking about sex
• uttering words which encroach on personal space and threaten the security of the person
• obscene actions
• showing private parts
• stalking
• touching/pinching/rubbing any part of the body to another person
• committing sexual harassment online via comments and sharing videos without the consent of the person, among other actions

The proposed bill also covers these acts of harassment committed against lesbians, gays and transgender people.

Yael Tindugan welcomed the House's move, saying that he is ostracized every day just because he is gay.

“Napadaan [po ako] tapos bigla na lang po siyang, nagulat na lang po ako bigla niya kong hinawakan sa dibdib. Hindi porket bakla, mahilig na sa sex,” Tindugan said.

A similar bill was approved by the Senate in October, but the House version imposes harsher penalties. This means that the Bicameral Conference Committee will still have to reconcile the two versions of the measure and approve it before sending it to the President so it can be signed into law.

Akbayan party-list Representative Tom Villarin welcomed the bill's approval. "Passing this bill will also send a strong message to everyone: No means no, whether at home, at school, in the workplace, or in public places. There is no room for sexual harassment—whether in actions, words, or gestures—in this day and age," he said. — Llanesca T. Panti/BM, GMA News