7/29/2019 3 Anti-Marital Infidelity

1/3

1ENACTING THE ANTI-MARITAL INFIDELITY LAW

PhilippineCommissiononWomen

Policy Brief No. 3

AddressingtheInequalityinourPenalLawonAdulteryandConcubinage:

ENACTINGTHEANTIMARITALINFIDELITYLAW

ThispolicybriefprovidestherationaleforamendingRevisedPenalCodeprovisionsonAdulteryandConcubinage.Italsopresentsrecommendationsonhowtoaddresstheinequalitiesinthelawwhilestillprotectingtheinstitutionofmarriage.

WHAT IS THE ISSUE?

Maritalinfidelityisaviolationorbreachofgoodfaith

andconfidencebyoneorbothspousestothe

matrimonialvows.Itisalsoamajorspousalpressure

thateventuallycausesthebreakdownofmarriageasa

foundationofthefamily.

Ourpresentlawsonadulteryandconcubinageunder

theRevisedPenalCodebothconstitutemarital

infidelity,

but

these

are

deemed

as

discriminatory

and

nebulous.Whilebothaimtopunishmaritalinfidelity

ofthespouses,thereishigherburdenputonwives

thanonhusbands.Thisdisparityinthetreatmentof

thelawisseenintheevidentiaryrequirementforthe

twocrimesandthereisahugeunderlyingdifferenceif

theinfidelitywascommittedbythemaleorfemale

spouse.Forthewife,adulterymeansoneactofsexual

intercourseprovablethroughcircumstantialevidence

whileforthehusband,evidentiaryrequirementfor

concubinageishigherbyprovingthatthesexual

intercoursewithawomanwhoisnothiswifeisunder

scandalouscircumstances;

that

he

is

keeping

another

womanintheconjugalhome;orthatheiscohabiting

withherinanotherdwelling.Ourpresentlawalso

imposeshigherpenaltytomarriedwomenwho

commitinfidelityascomparedtomarriedmen1.The

usualreasoningforthedistinctionisthattheinfidelity

ofthewifecanresult inintroducingalienbloodinto

thefamily;thatanillegitimatechildcouldbepassed

offasthehusbandsandhewillendupsupportingand

givinghisnametothesaidchild.Itisalsoclaimedthat

thisprobabilitydoesnotariseifitisthehusbandwho

commitsconcubinage.

Itshouldbenotedthatasprivatecrimes,ourpresent

lawonadulteryandconcubinageregardstheprivacy

1 Thepenaltyforwomenwhocommitadulteryrangesfrom2

years,4monthsand1daytoamaximumof6years,whilethe

penaltyformenwhocommitconcubinagerangesfrom6months

and1daytoamaximumof4yearsand2months.

oftheoffendedpartyasmoreimportantthanthe

disturbancetotheorderofsociety,asitgivesthe

offendedpartythepreferencewhetherornottosue.

Themomenttheoffendedpartyhasinitiatedthe

criminalcomplaint,thepublicprosecutorwilltake

overandcontinuewithprosecutionoftheoffender.

Themomenttheprosecutionstarts,thecrimehas

alreadybecomepublicanditisbeyondtheoffended

partytopardontheoffender.ButtheRPCprovisionon

adultery

has

been

used

or

mostly

abused

by

many

husbandsagainsttheirwivestothreaten,torture,

harassorcompelthelattertoyieldtohisdemands.On

theotherhand,thelawonconcubinagerendersit

extremelydifficultforthewivestoprovethethree

elementsintheCourtsoflawwhichresultstomore

dismissalsofcasesfiled.

WHY IS THE ISSUE IMPORTANT?

Thepenalprovisionsonadulteryandconcubinage

bothconstitutemaritalinfidelitybutareviewed

differentlybyapredominantlychauvinistsociety.The

disparityin

treatment

stems

from

gender

biases

that

usedoublestandardsinbeingmorelenientthus

seeminglyacceptingtheinfidelityofmenasnormal,

butmorestringentonwomenwhoareexpectedtobe

onewhoisfaithfultoherhusbandnomatterwhat.

Thesediscriminatoryprovisionsinthelawshouldbe

amended.

WHAT ARE THE EXISTING LAWS OR POLICYISSUANCES RELATED TO THE ISSUE?

Section12ofRA9710ortheMagnaCartaofWomen

(MCW)providesfortheamendmentorrepealoflaws

thatarediscriminatorytowomenwhich,among

others,includeArticles333and334oftheRevised

PenalCodeonadulteryandconcubinage.

7/29/2019 3 Anti-Marital Infidelity

2/3

PCW Policy Brief

No. 3

August

2013

2 ENACTING THE ANTI-MARITAL INFIDELITY LAW

The1987PhilippineConstitutionArticleIIon

DeclarationofPrinciplesandStatePoliciesparticularly

onSection14providesthatTheStaterecognizesthe

roleofwomeninnationbuilding,andshallensurethe

fundamentalequalitybeforethelawofwomenand

men.Article

XV,

Section

2also

provides

that

the

Stateshallprotectthemarriageasinviolablesocial

institutionandfoundationoffamilylife.

WHAT ARE THE EXPERIENCES OF OTHERCOUNTRIES IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUE?

InCanada,thecrimeofadulteryappliestobothaman

andawomanwheneitherofthemhassexwith

someoneoutsidethemarriage.Adulteryisalsoacrime

inKoreapunishablebyuptotwo(2)yearsinjail.In

many

countries

such

as

the

United

States,

Russia,

Canada,IsraelandPoland,adulteryrepresentsas

groundfordivorce.Iran,Pakistan,SaudiArabiaand

Yemenpunishadulterybydeathhowever,therehave

beennorecentexecutionsunlessothercrimeswere

involved2.

WHAT ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS INADDRESSING THIS ISSUE IN THE COUNTRY?

Promoting womens rights and gender equality

Removingthedoublestandardsinthecrimesof

adulteryand

concubinage

will

contribute

to

ensuring

equalitybeforethelawbetweenwomenandmen.It

willalsoprotecttherightsoflegallymarriedwomen.

Responding to International Commitments

Article2(g)oftheConventionontheEliminationofAll

FormsofDiscriminationAgainstWomen(CEDAW)

requirestheStatetomodifyorabolishexistinglaws,

regulations,customsandpracticesthatconstitute

discriminationagainstwomen.Article16alsocalledon

theStatesPartiestotakeallappropriatemeasuresto

eliminatediscriminationagainstwomenandensure

equalityofmenandwomeninallmattersrelatingto

marriageandfamilyrelations.

2ExtramaritalSex/InfidelityinJ.T.Sears(Ed.)availableonlineat

http://faculty.unlv.edu/fifes2/pdf/Infidelity%20and%20Extramarita

l%20Sex.pdf,lastaccessed:onAugust23,2013

The2006CEDAWCommitteeConcludingComments

onthe5thand6thPhilippineCountryReportraisedits

concernonthelackofprogressinundertakingand

completingnecessaryrevisionsofdiscriminatory

provisionsintheRPC,particularlyMaritalInfidelityBill

whichis

still

pending.

Alignment with National Priorities

Theproposedmeasureisconsistentwithitem13of

thegovernments16PointagendaonGenderEquality

whichstates;fromalackofconcernforgenderdisparitiesandshortfalls,tothepromotionofequalgenderopportunityinallspheresofpublicpoliciesandprograms.

It

will

also

complement

the

Constitutional

provision

on

theprotectionofmarriageasaninviolablesocial

institutionandfoundationoffamilylife.

POLICY RECOMMENDATION

Maritalinfidelityshouldremainanillegalactbecause

itisnotonlyacrimeagainsttheotherspousebutalso

abreachtothemaritalvows.Marriageisaspecial

contractsuchthatitisathreepartyagreementthat

involvesthespousesandtheState.Althoughthe

personalrightsofthespousesareinvolved,theState

alsoconsiders

itself

as

an

offended

party,

not

because

ofabreachofpublicorderbutbecauseoftheviolation

ofmaritalvowswhichtheStateitselfprotects.The

Stateregulationofmaritalrelationshipswhich

criminalizesinfidelitywillhelpstrengthenthemarriage

asaninstitutionbyservingasdeterrentforboth

spousesfromtestingtheminefieldofextramarital

affairs.

Butthelawshouldnotdistinguishbetweenthe

infidelityofamanfromtheinfidelityofawoman.

7/29/2019 3 Anti-Marital Infidelity

3/3

3ENACTING THE ANTI-MARITAL INFIDELITY LAW

Afterall,theysaidthesamemarriagevowsandthe

wifeisnotanylessbetrayedbytheunfaithfulhusband

thanahusbandwhosewifebrokehervows.Inorder

toaddressthisgenderbias,itisrecommendedthat

RevisedPenalCodeprovisiononAdulteryand

Concubinagebeamendedasfollows:

1. Definemaritalinfidelityascommittedby"anylegallymarriedpersonwhoshallhave

sexualintercoursewithanotherpersonother

thanthelegalspouse,andbythepersonwho

hassexualintercoursewiththemarried

person,knowingthatpersontobelegally

married,evenifthemarriagebesubsequently

declaredvoid";

2. Imposethesamepenaltiesforoffendingpartiesforthesamegravityofoffense

committed;

3. Mandatethatthecrimeofmaritalinfidelityshallnotbeprosecutedexceptupon

complaintfiledbytheoffendedspouse;

4. Providethatanoffendedpartyshallbebarredfrominstitutingacriminalprosecutionifsaid

partyisalsoguiltyofcommittingtheoffense.

Whilethis

proposal

will

not

guarantee

that

the

spouseswillremainfaithfultothemaritalvows,

equalizingthegroundsandpenaltiesformarital

infidelitywillgivewomentheoptiontofilecriminal

chargesagainstaphilanderinghusband;anoption

whichalthoughpresentinourcurrentlaw,isinutile

giventhenatureandthedegreeofburdenneededto

fileandprovethecrimeofconcubinage.

CONCLUSION

LegislativeproposalstoamendRPCprovisionson

adulteryandconcubinagebyenactingamarital

infidelitylaw

were

filed

but

remained

pending

since

the13thCongress.Itishopedthat,intheinterestof

fulfillingtheirmandateundertheMagnaCartaof

Women,ourlegislatorswillprioritizeandfavorthe

immediateenactmentofamaritalinfidelitylaw.

PCWPolicyBriefsaimtostimulateinformeddiscourseandguidepolicyactionsonissuesconcerningthe

empowermentofwomenandpromotionofgenderequality.

OFFICEOFTHEPRESIDENT

PhilippineCommissiononWomen

1145J.P.LaurelStreet,SanMiguel,1005Manila

http://www.pcw.gov.ph|pdad@pcw.gov.ph|+6327358918