SEN. Robin Padilla yesterday sought to impose stiffer penalties against sexual harassment as he filed a bill proposing amendments to the Safe Spaces Act of 2019, or the “Bawal Bastos” Act.
In filing Senate Bill No. 2810, Padilla noted that sexual harassment in workplaces have remained “active and rampant” despite the enactment of the law.
“The recent public hearings of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media revealed sexual harassment in the workplace remains active and rampant,” Padilla said.
He also said that “employers, particularly large corporations, could easily evade compliance with their obligations under the Safe Spaces Act given the grossly small amount of applicable fines.”
Under SBN 2810, the actor-turned-senator proposed a fine of P100,000 to P300,000 for an employer’s failure to take proper measures to stop gender-based sexual harassment, or failure to create an internal mechanism or a committee on decorum. The current fine is a measly P5,000 to P10,000 fine
A higher fine of P300,000 to P500,000, from the present fine of P10,000 to P15,000, will also be imposed on employers who fail to act on sexual harassment complaints.
Padilla also proposed the inclusion of a provision that would automatically award a P300,000 exemplary damage in the event of conviction.
“Finally, recognizing the stigma and social exclusion that go together with coping with the trauma cause by sexual harassment, this measure likewise seeks to increase the prescriptive period for filing a complaint from five to 10 years,” he also said.
