SEN. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada has proposed the creation of a national database of convicted sex offenders which he said make information gathering easy and accessible for law enforcement agencies and their foreign counterparts.
Estrada’s Senate Bill No. 1291 seeks the simple tracking and monitoring of the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders once they are set free.
The lawmaker noted reports that some convicted sex offenders continue their criminal acts when they get out of detention just by relocating elsewhere.
Estrada said a National Sex Offender Registry, which will be handled by the Department of Justice (DOJ) once it is set up, will contain the names and other personal details of sex offenders, including their updated residential address and their international and local travels.
The data will be available and accessible to the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation, and other concerned law enforcement agencies. It can also be shared between countries and respective law enforcement agencies if deemed necessary for the proper registration and identification of sex offenders.
Prior to their release, a convicted sex offender shall register and regularly update the province, city, or municipality where he is residing, employed, or studying.
They will be given 10 days to update their registration if there are changes in address, employment, or school, otherwise, they face a jail term of five years and will be required to pay a fine of P10,000.
Those who are convicted in local and foreign courts shall remain in the registry for life and will be required to appear at least once a year before the local police in their place or residence.
Also in the proposed measure is the conduct of an information and education campaign to be spearheaded by the DOJ and the PNP to raise public awareness of the existence of the registry and to make sure that law enforcement agencies can access and use it.
He said a number of countries have already enacted similar legislation after the US passed its national level sex offender registration law in 1994.
Estrada clarified that the proposed measure does not intend to shame convicted sex offenders, but is rather aimed at helping inform the community that they need protection against them.
