After a series of hearings on the sexual harassment case involving actor Sandro Muhlach, Senator Robinhood Padilla seeks to update legislation on incidents such as this, filing three bills on the issue.

During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media on Wednesday, Sept. 4, Padilla, who chairs the committee, said there is still a long way to go as many relevant laws are badly outdated, some of them based on a Revised Penal Code dating back to the 1930s.

"Meron tayong panukalang batas ito na gawin natin ito, i-file natin ito... mapagaralan doon para maging batas at matigil ang mangyari pa. Ang nangyari na matagal na tingnan natin kung anong panukalang batas ang pwedeng malinang para maharap ang reklamo at karanasan nitong mga taong gustong magsalita ngayon ay titingnan natin pero sa ngayon sa ginawa naming pagdinig yan ang panukalang batas na aming nalinang (We have filed bills that I hope will be studied and eventually passed, so sexual harassment will stop. We continue to see what bills can be filed to address the issue; for now, these are the bills we have come up with)," Padilla said at the committee's hearing on Wednesday.

"Sa ngayon meron tayong panukalang batas na nalinang, hayaan natin itong mga panukalang batas na ito mapasakamay sa committee kung saan mapupunta at isang araw maging batas (For now, we have crafted these bills, that we hope will pass through the committees and someday become law)," he added.

Also, Padilla said that after consulting his legal staff, he has decided to allow only legal experts in the next hearings, to prevent possible sensationalism and grandstanding.

He added that while they wish to continue hearing from legal experts who wish to contribute to solving the problem, he is considering making the next committee hearing the final one.

"Sa aming paguusap wala nang maitutulong ang pagiging sensationalized ng paksa na ito (In our discussions, we concluded that sensationalizing will not help)," he said.

So far, Padilla said the committee hearings have led to the filing of at least three bills:

• Senate Bill 2777, which pushes heavier penalties, including death, against sexual assault, by strengthening the Anti-Rape Law of 1997. The bill also aims to make the law stronger and more gender-responsive.
• Senate Bill 2778, which seeks to professionalize the talent management industry by requiring a license for talent management outfits and holding media outlets liable for damages if the talent manager with whom it has a contract, whether regular or not, is convicted of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and violence.
• Senate Bill 2810, which strengthens the Safe Spaces Act of 2019 with higher penalties against violators, and includes an automatic award of exemplary damages in the event of conviction.

Aside from this, Padilla said his office continues to work with the Department of Justice to study updates to the Revised Penal Code of 1930 and the Family Code of 1988.

"Siguro naman obvious naman dapat natin ito bisitahin muli... Gumawa tayo ng bagong penal code at family code na tutugma diyan sa panahon natin ngayon (It is obvious that we must revisit these outdated laws. We must craft an updated penal code and family code that will respond to changing times)," he said.

But Padilla stressed they still have to work on legislation that addresses other aspects of the problem, including incidents where officials of media outlets act on sexual harassment complaints by penalizing those responsible - but allegedly use connections to make sure the complainant cannot find work elsewhere.

"Meron pang isa pero pinagaralan naming maigi lalo ng aming abogado, ang halimbawa ang media network na nirereklamo ng emplyeado o artista o news reporter, kahit sino sa media network na nagreklamo, na napagkaisahan na huwag siya bigyan ng trabaho. Inaksyunan nga ng media network, sinuspindi ang nireklamong tao pero nang sinuspindi ang nireklamong tao, pero ang nagreklamo naman, hindi binigyan ng trabaho nawalan ng trabaho sa workplace kahit saan lumipat ng trabaho dahil may koneksyon ang opisinang yan di na siya nagkaroon ng trabaho (Our legal staff are studying cases where a media network that receives a complaint of sexual harassment penalizes the one being complained about, but the complainant becomes jobless because of 'connections' of the media outlet)," he said.

"Kailangan may matinding kaso diyan kailangan may batas diyan na di magkaroon ng conspiracy laban sa nagreklamo. Kailangan meron iyan moral damages. Pinaguusapan po namin napagdesisyunan kagabi na walang criminal liability pero civil at moral damages meron. Di pupuwedeng wala (There should be sanctions against such practices of conspiracy against the complainant. There should be at least civil and moral damages, even if there is no criminal liability)," he added.