MEMO

TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: MEMBERS OF THE PHILIPPINES COUNTRY TASK FORCE, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE SIGNATORIES TO LGBT RIGHTS SHADOW REPORT OF THE PHILIPPINES FOLLOW-U INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: GRAVE SCANDAL AND LGBT RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 16 OCTOBER 2012

A.

Grave Scandal

I. Response of the State In his response to the queries of the UN Human Rights Committee Member Mr. Gerald Neuman on the issue of the grave scandal provision of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Supreme Court Administrator Midas Marquez said, "In regard to the allegation that homosexuals are accused of grave scandal under our revised penal code, well, it applies to all people, not just homosexuals, and it applies to everyone who offends decencyit is not the sexual preference that is punishable but highly scandalous conduct not if someone is a homosexual but if a person has committed highly scandalous conduct, that person can be accused. II. NGO Observations Because the term grave scandal does not clearly define punishable conduct, police officers are given broad discretion for its implementation. Filipino police apply this law to arbitrarily and disproportionately subject LGBT people to arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and extortion from the raids conducted on establishments that cater to gay men and transgender people.1

(1) Six persons were arrested in the early morning of Friday, Aug 28, 2009 when police raided the Alta Theatre, an establishment catering to gays, bisexual and transgender women. Police informed the individuals that they would be charged under the Anti-Trafficking Law. After five days of police detention, the idividuals were released when the Chief Prosecutor dismissed the case for lack of evidence; no charges were filed. Raids in Gay/Bi/Trans Venues. Jonas Bagas, Aug. 29, 2009. http://fullman.com.ph/2009/08/29/raids-in-gaybitrans-venues/ (2) In the morning of September 24, 2010, plainclothes police arrested 114 people (105 patrons and 9 staff) at the Queeriosity Bar. Police hit on the bar manager on the head, punched him in the stomach, and told him not to ask questions when he asked the police for a search warrant. The police arrested the 114 people for allegedly violating the Anti-Trafficking Law. While waiting for the charges to be filed, a policeman lectured the accused about the so-called immorality of their acts. He asked who among the arrested are married, and two clients responded. Police told them that they were the only real men present and released them. At the police station, police demanded P300, 000.00-bribe money from the establishment and P5, 000 from each client. No charges were brought, there was no conviction and requirement by the courts that the men pay a fine, so this was understood to be a bribe. (This the summary of the documentation of Jonas Bagas, who went to the precinct representing TLF Share, an NGO of men who have sex with men, and Akbayan Party-list. More information available at: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=115681871825735&id=146448862053242.)
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B.

Other Neutral Laws Used to Criminalize Homosexuality

It must be noted that the grave scandal provision of the Revised Penal Code is not the only law used to target LGBT persons. The Anti-Trafficking Law, which defines trafficking in person to include prostitution, has been used by police to raid LGBT establishments and detain clients. During such raids, extortion, arbitrary arrest, detention and physical abuse occur. Legal charges are rarely pursued due to lack of evidence of wrongdoing. III. PROPOSED QUESTIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES 1. If by using the definition of grave scandal, why has there been no grave scandal charges filed to the numerous cases of raids conducted on establishments that cater to gay men and transgender people and yet this is the law the police would often use to conduct the raids in the first place? 2. What steps has the Philippines government taken to prevent misinterpretations of Philippines laws like the public scandal law of the revised penal code, so that police are prevented to use laws to commit police abuse, illegal detention and extortion from LGBT persons?