Senator Nancy Binay called on the Department of Justice to furnish the Senate Finance Committee with a detailed report on the incidence of incestuous rape cases.

Binay made the call during the public hearing on the proposed 2025 budget of the DOJ and its attached agencies, after the agency revealed that many of the 21,423 actual rape cases filed in court in 2023 involved incest.

“How many persons were convicted of incestuous rape? The conviction rate, how many cases are pending and the aging of cases since as they say, justice delayed is justice denied,” Binay asked.

The senator underlined the need for comprehensive data that would help the Senate craft legislation that would prevent the prevalence of incestuous rape in the country.

Last year, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that he would ask the Supreme Court to draft guidelines for lower courts to remove amicable settlement in resolving cases of incestuous rape and child abuse, as he said that many complainants, especially their families, opted to resolve these cases through an amicable settlement.

Binay concurred, as she pointed out that the situation faced by complainants might not be resolved and they could fall prey to becoming victims again if cases are settled amicably.

“Kung hindi naman makukulong ang offender na nag-commit ng incest, walang kasiguruhan na mapoprotektahan ang biktima, at hindi matitigil ang pang-aabuso,” she said.

According to the Child Protection Network Foundation, as many as two million Filipino minors aged 13 to 17 experienced sexual violence in 2020. Dr. Bernadette Madrid, its executive director, said that majority of the perpetuators were family members.

“We have to be able to create an effective mechanism that would protect victims from sexual abuse, especially those that occur in their own homes,” said the senator.