House bill to abolish ‘forgiveness’ as a way out for rapists

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If Akbayan Party-list Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula would have her way, she would repeal the so-called “forgiveness clause” in the Revised Penal Code (RPC) as it pertains to the crime of rape.

Ismula filed in the current 20th Congress House Bill (HB) No. 10099, which seeks to remove Article 266-C of the RPC.

The current provision extinguishes criminal liability for rape if the offender marries the victim, or if a husband who committed rape is forgiven by his wife.

Ismula, a neophyte congresswoman from Mindanao, said it was embarrassing for a current law to still have this feature.

“Rape is a grave crime. Marriage should never be used to shield the rapist from accountability and condemn the survivor to a lifetime of hell,” she said in a statement Sunday, July 19.

“Nakakahiya na nasa batas pa rin natin ito. Panahon na para i-amend ang ating batas para sa dignidad ng mga victim survivors ng rape,” added Ismula.

(It is shameful that this is still in our laws. It is time to amend our laws for the dignity of rape victim-survivors.)

For her, rape victims should never be forced to marry their rapists to escape prosecution.

The proposed measure also seeks to amend related articles of the penal code to ensure that subsequent marriage or personal pardon can no longer absolve perpetrators of sexual violence.

According to HB No. 10099, the forgiveness clause “reflects an outdated and harmful notion that marriage or pardon can erase the trauma of rape”.

“In practice, it risks compelling victims to remain tied to their aggressors, thereby perpetuating cycles of abuse and enabling offenders to escape accountability. Such a legal mechanism undermines the seriousness of rape as a crime and diminishes the rights and dignity of women,” it said.

The other authors of the measure are Akbayan Party-list Reps. Chel Diokno, Perci Cendaña; and Dinagat Islands lone district Rep. Kaka Bag-ao. — Ellson Quismorio