Manila: A committee of the House of Representatives has approved a Bill that imposes equal punishment for married men and women who are found to be unfaithful to their espouses.
Any married man or woman found to be unfaithful will not be charged with concubinage or adultery, respectively, as was done in the past, but with infidelity, as proposed in the new Bill, lawmen said.
"House Bill 5734 which was passed by the house committee on women and gender equality, protects the institution of marriage. It takes away the gender bias in laws penalising adultery and concubinage," said Congressman Teddy Brawner, the only male lawmaker who joined four women lawmakers in filing bills on the matter.
The consolidated Bill now makes it easier for women to prove that their husbands have committed the crime, said Deputy Speaker Maria Isabelle Climaco.
In the past, it was easier for men to get a ruling on cases of adultery filed against wives who were allegedly unfaithful, said Congresswoman Linabelle Ruth Villarica
The aim of the Bill is not to make it hard or easy for both parties who complain about adultery or concubinage, but to make partners recognise their responsibility to uphold the sanctity of marriage, said Brawner.
File a case
An offended spouse should file the case, otherwise the alleged crime cannot be prosecuted in court, Brawner added.
The Senate has to make a counterpart Bill. Versions of the upper and lower houses of congress are consolidated by a bicameral committee for final approval.
There is no divorce in the Philippines. The Philippine government, however, allows civil annulment of marriages for couples who want to dissolve their marriage due to irreconcilable differences.
Those whose marriages are anulled could get married again only in civil courts, not in churches unless they have annulment of their respective church weddings from the Vatican in Rome.
