TO the menfolk in Dagupan City: Behave on seeing a woman on the street or end up paying P1,000 to P2,000 for any sign of crude or rude harassment.

An ordinance protecting women against harassment in the city’s streets is set to be passed by the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) after a committee hearing on Wednesday.

Councilor Maybelyn de la Cruz Fernandez, proponent of the measure, said street harassment occurs when a man accosts a woman in a public place and intrude upon the woman’s attention in a manner that is unwelcome to the woman, with gesture, language or action that is explicitly and implicitly sexual.

It further defines that sexual misconduct or misbehavior that constitutes street harassment may be non-verbal, verbal and physical.

These acts shall include the following:

1. a) Non-verbal conduct or behavior, such as staring, ogling, flashing, stalking, upskirting, making sexual looks and sexually oriented gestures or body language;
2. b) Verbal conduct or behavior, such as catcalling, wolf-whistling, kissing noises, sexual or disrespectful comments, or request for sexual interaction, making sexual jokes or propositions, remarks of a sexual nature about dress or physical appearance, and pressure for dates; and
3. c) Physical conduct or behavior, such as patting, stroking, hugging, kissing, pinching, brushing against a woman’s body, fondling, groping, touching the genitals, anus, breast, inner thigh and buttocks.

The fine for non-verbal conduct is P1,000 or P16 hours of community service for the first offense and a fine of P5,000 and a 24-hour community service for subsequent violations.

For verbal conduct or behavior, the fine is P2,000 and 16-hour community service for the first offense and P5,000 and 24-hour community service for subsequent violations.

The fine for physical conduct or behavior which consists of the touching of genitals, anus, breast, inner thigh or buttocks of a woman over her clothing, the fine would be P5,000 for the first offense, including imprisonment of not more than seven days.

Assistant Legal Officer Roy Laforteza said victims, however, may still opt for a higher penalty for the offenders by filing cases of acts of lasciviousness instead of availing of the coverage of the proposed ordinance.

SPO3 Jailene Aquino of the Women’s and Children’s Desk of the Dagupan Police, said complainants may also opt to file a case of unjust vexation against the male offenders when sexually harassed by the latter.

Councilor Fernandez said Dagupan will be the third local government unit after Manila and Quezon City to enact such an ordinance.

If passed into law, the ordinance will be enforced by the Dagupan Police and the Public Order and Safety Office. (Leonardo Micua)

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