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Age of Majority in the PH
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Is it legal for an adult western man to move to the Philippines and have a girlfriend that is only 12 years old? I find this difficult to believe and hope that this is not the case.
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The age of consent in the Philippines is 12. However if the child is under 18 and is exploited for sex it is considered as rape. Also if the person who has sex with a child between 12 and 18 is more than 10 years older than the a child who is between 12 and 17 it is considered Statutory Rape. The law is set out below. The minimum age for consensual sex is 12 years. The statutory rape law criminalizes sex with minors under age 12 and sex with a child under age 18 involving force, threat, or intimidation. The maximum penalty for child rape is 40 years in prison plus a lifetime bar from political office. [78] However, while consensual sex with a person under age 18 is not statutory rape, it is still a violation of the law if the child is found to be "exploited in prostitution or subject to other sexual abuse". [79] Under Republic Act No. 7610, [80] a child is defined as a person below 18 years of age and the law reads: Article III, Section 5. Child Prostitution and Other Sexual Abuse. Children, whether male or female, who for money, profit, or any other consideration or due to the coercion or influence of any adult, syndicate or group, indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be children exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse. [81] "Other sexual abuse" requires "some form of compulsion equivalent to intimidation". The courts have specified that "influence" means "improper use of power or trust in any way that deprives a person of free will and substitute’s another’s objective". [82] Although it does not specifically deal with sexual activity, Article VI, Section 10 of Republic Act 7610 can be considered to establish a de facto maximum close in age exception of 10 years for minors aged 12–17.
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No. under Article 247, being caught by the girl’s parent(s) ‘in the act or immediately thereafter’… is essentially a death sentence. The law reads: “Any/All assault & battery suffered by the seducer will be legal, completely legal (as per ‘If he shall inflict upon them physical injuries of any other kind, he shall be exempt from punishment).” And then, as referenced above, there is Republic Act 7610, or the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act”. Under this it is illegal for “any person who shall keep or have in his company a minor, 12 years or younger or who is 10 years or more his junior in any public or private place, hotel, motel, beer joint, discotheque, cabaret, pension house, sauna or massage parlor, beach and/or other tourist resort or similar place” unless there are family ties or some other legal bond or obligation involved. With all this taken into account, the de-facto age of consent in the Philippines is a solid 18.