The Philippine Commission on Women, a government agency, told CNN in a statement that it has pushed to raise the age of consent to 16 years old, and has included the recommendation in its policy briefs. And though public awareness about the issue has expanded in recent years, the child rights sector is relatively new in the country and less established than other social movements, such as the campaign for women’s rights. The penal code is “one of the oldest laws in the Philippines,” said Selena B. Fortich, Philippines country program manager for child protection at the NGO Plan International. “It has many archaic provisions – many do not apply and should not exist in contemporary society.”

Previous to (the current legislature), there was really an active opposition in Congress,” said Madrid, the child protection director. Some opponents said legal change was unnecessary, given the existing laws. Newer members of congress weren’t aware of the issue, she said. In April 2021, the couple clashed on social media over Guitterez's multiple cheating. The public turned against Jon Guitterez (alias King Badger). Some urged his wife and Toni to unite and teach him a lesson. The latest Pinay actress scandal about Jelai is her concubine lawsuit against Guitterez in June 2021. The court set a hearing on March 2023. 11. Toni Fowler attempted suicide after her relationship with King Badger They were coerced into “night duty” under “the threat of physical and verbal abuse and eternal damnation,” according to the indictment. Some lawmakers argue there is no need to change the age of consent because the country already has laws against child abuse.

Derek Ramsay and Angelica Panganiban

Even though reports of ​online child sexual abuse have surged, only a small proportion of cases make it to court, and even fewer reach a conviction. After Acupinpin’s teacher notified the police about her injuries, she was removed from her parents’ care and placed in a care center for abuse survivors – but she didn’t ​initially tell anyone about the sexual abuse. “I kept it to myself because I was so scared, because his threats still lingered in my mind,” she said.

Quiboloy and the others also are accused of bringing church members to the U.S. with fraudulently obtained student visas or sham marriages to solicit donations for the church's charity, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale. She also said she met Cheves again last Feb. 22 and they went to a motel in Pasay City where he took videos of their sexual activity. In a 2015 study involving 3,866 Filipino ​respondents aged 13 to 24, about 3.2% said they had been raped during childhood. And more than 17% ​of those aged 13 to 17 experienced sexual violence, which includes “unwanted touch” or having explicit photos or videos taken, said the study, conducted by UNICEF and the Philippine government’s Council for the Welfare of Children.Last Tuesday, Aug. 31, the DOJ said that Judge Byron Gabbuat San Pedro of the Taguig City regional trial court (RTC) Branch 15 (a family court) has issued an arrest warrant against Spanish national Francisco Manuel Sanchez de Oria, 36, also known as Franco Sanchez.