Women face danger in ways the law has yet to fully address — online harassment, deepfakes, cyberstalking, and political intimidation.
This March, Cebu City Second District Representative and House Deputy Majority Leader Eduardo “Edu” Rama, Jr. took action by co-authoring two bills aimed at protecting women from these threats.
Rama is a principal co-author of House Bill 8420, the Expanded Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (E-VAWC) Act, which updates the 2004 Anti-VAWC law to include technology-facilitated abuses.
The bill defines offenses such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images, online harassment, identity theft through fake social media accounts, and malicious fake news targeting women and children.
The proposed law imposes penalties of 12 to 20 years in prison, fines from P300,000 to P500,000, and mandatory psychological counseling.
It allows employed victims 20 days of paid leave during legal proceedings and empowers courts to order the immediate takedown or blocking of harmful content.
The bill also directs the Department of Justice to run an Identity and Location Confidentiality Program to protect survivors from being tracked by abusers.
Rama also co-filed the Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) Act with more than 30 other legislators.
This measure criminalizes politically motivated violence against women candidates, elected officials, party members, and campaign staff.
It addresses physical assault, sexual harassment, online trolling, deepfakes, and gendered disinformation, covering women who self-identify or live as female.
The VAWP Act requires political parties to allocate at least 30% of campaign resources to women candidates and adopt a zipper system for party-list nominations.
Digital platforms that ignore verified reports face administrative fines of P1 million per day, while criminal penalties include six months to six years in prison and fines from P100,000 to P1 million depending on the offense.
Data cited in the bills show women held only 24% of elected positions in 2022, down from 30% in 2017.
A 2016 Inter-Parliamentary Union survey found 82% of women parliamentarians experienced psychological violence during their term, highlighting political intimidation as a major barrier to representation.
Rama said the legislation ensures women can participate fully in public life without fear of harassment or violence.
