Sexual harassment; labor standards

The State shall value the dignity of every individual, enhance the development of its human resources, guarantee full respect for human rights, and uphold the dignity of workers, employees, applicants for employment, students or those undergoing training, instruction or education. Towards this end, all forms of sexual harassment in the employment, education or training environment are hereby declared unlawful.

Azucena (2013) confirms that sexual harassment is not sufficiently treated by the Labor Code of the Philippines.

"Not part of Book III of this Code, yet related to it, is a problem commonly met at the work place, though it exists also in training and educational institutions. It can happen to anyone — industrial or agricultural worker, a manager or a clerk, a male or a female, youthful or otherwise. A discussion of conditions of employment would be deficient if it leaves out the issue of sexual harassment."

Republic Act No. 7877, otherwise known as the "Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995" declares sexual harassment unlawful in the employment, education or training environment. The victim of sexual harassment may be a woman or a man.

Republic Act No. 7877 states as a policy that the State shall value the dignity of every individual, enhance the development of its human resources, guarantee full respect for human rights, and uphold the dignity of workers, employees, applicants for employment, students or those undergoing training, instruction or education. Towards this end, all forms of sexual harassment in the employment, education or training environment, are hereby declared unlawful. (Section 2 of R.A. No. 7877)Work, education or training-related sexual harassment is committed by any employer, employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainor, or any other person who, having authority, influence or moral ascendancy over another in a work or training or education environment, demands, requests or otherwise requires any sexual favor from another, regardless of whether the demand, request or requirement for submission is accepted by the object of said act. (Section 3 of R.A. No. 7877)

Any person who directs or induces another to commit any act of sexual harassment as defined in the law, or who cooperates in the commission thereof by another without which it would not have been committed, shall also be held liable under the law.

Any person who violates the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be penalized by imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor more than six (6) months, or a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000) nor more than Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000), or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. Any action arising from the violation of the provisions of this law shall prescribe in three (3) years.

READ MORE: Azucena, C. A. (2013). The Labor Code: with Comments and Cases (Vol. 1). National Book Store. https://www.rexestore.com/labor-standards/981-the-labor-code-with-comments-and-cases-volume-i-revised-edition.html.