Lawmakers renew bid to criminalize consensual incest

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Four lawmakers from the Bicol region have renewed a longtime bid to penalize consensual incest between adults with imprisonment of up to six years.

Representatives Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata, all of Camarines Sur, and Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII of the Bicol Saro party-list filed House Bill No. 4704, or the proposed Anti-Incest Act, which has been referred to the House committee on justice.

Incestuous marriages have been prohibited in the Philippines since the Spanish colonial era (via Roman Catholic canon law and Spanish Civil Code) and continued in legal effect through the Civil Code of the Philippines, which contained the bulk of family law, since 1950.

Both the Civil Code and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws absolutely prohibit incestuous marriages, varying only in the degrees of consanguinity.

But, the lawmakers explained in their proposed bill, “there is no law which penalizes incestuous relations between consenting parties 18 years of age and above.”

Question of policy, morals

“This bill criminalizes such sexual relations because they are contrary to public policy and public morals. It also responds to reports of rising incest statistics among families of overseas contract workers,” the lawmakers said.

According to HB 4704, “The consent of both parties notwithstanding, incestuous sexual relations are prohibited between the following who have knowledge of their relationship and are 18 years of age and above between ascendant and descendant of any degree; between brother and sister, whether of full- or half-blood; between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree; between stepparents and stepchildren; between parents-in-law and children-in-law; between the adopting parent and the adopted child; between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child; between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter; between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter; and between adopted children of the same adopter.”

The proposed measure’s penal clause provides: “The ascendant, elder brother or sister, elder blood relative, stepparent, parent-in-law, adopting parent or surviving spouse of the adopting parent convicted … shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and maximum period.”

Prision correccional entails imprisonment from six months and a day to two years and four months in its minimum, and up to six years in its maximum.

The younger party in the consensual incest would be dealt a punishment two degrees lower if he or she is between 18 and 25 years old.

The maximum penalty of six years imprisonment would apply when the incest happens “while the spouse of the ascendant, stepparent, parent-in-law, adopting parent or the adopted is employed in another city, municipality or province with a radius of at least 150 kilometers from his or her habitual residence or is employed abroad.”

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