Pia declares all-out war vs. video voyeurs

To curb the proliferation of so-called 'sex scandal videos,' Senator Pia S. Cayetano has filed a bill in the Senate which seeks to prohibit and penalize the recording, sharing, showing or exhibiting of private acts without the consent of the persons involved.

The measure, Senate Bill No.3267, will also be known as the "Anti-Video Voyeurism Act of 2009."

Cayetano, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, described sex scandal videos as the "highest form of invasion to the privacy of the offended party, most of whom are women."

"Such violation is condemnable and needs to be penalized in the highest degree."

"Victims of video voyeurs are doubly victimized, first, when the recording was made without their consent, and second, when such recording is viewed again and again on the internet, mobile phones and video players," explained Cayetano, who is also President of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Section 3 of SBN 3267 penalizes the act of recording or any attempt to record acts which one has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including but not limited to sexual acts, without the consent of all the parties involved. It also aims to penalize the sharing, showing or exhibition to other persons of such recording, if done without the consent of the parties.

Violation of Section 3 carries a prison penalty ranging from six months to six years and a fine ranging from P100,000 to P500,000.

If the offender is an alien, he or she will be subjected to deportation proceedings after serving the penalty for imprisonment and fine.

Cayetano said victims of video voyeurs could resort to filing charges against their offenders under Republic Act 9262, the "Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (AVAWC)" which covers mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule or humiliation under Section 5 (5)(i).

Victims may also use Article 201 of the 1932 Revised Penal Code which punishes the exhibition of indecent or immoral scenes that serve no other purpose but to satisfy the market for lust or pornography.

"These laws, however, are too general and could not entirely cover 'modern' and 'high-tech' methods of violating privacy, such as those perpetrated by video voyeurs. An updated law is therefore needed to effectively curb the proliferation of sex scandal videos."