Decision - 49 - G.R. No. 227363 homosexual or heterosexual, then, we will have to be overhauling our existing laws and jurisprudence on sexual offenses. For example, we have in our Revised Penal Code, qualified seduction, under Article 337 of the Revised Penal Code, which provides that the seduction of a virgin over 12 and under 18 committed by any person in public authority: priest, house servant, domestic guardian, teacher, or person who in any capacity shall be entrusted with the education or custody of the woman seduced, shall be punished by etc. etc. Now, if we make a general definition of pedophilia then shall that offender, who, under our present law, is guilty of pedophilia? I understand that the consensus is to consider a woman or a boy below 15 as a child and therefore a potential victim of pedophilia. And so, what will happen to our laws and jurisprudence on seduction? The Chairman earlier mentioned that possible we might just amend our existing provisions on crimes against chastity, so as to make it stiffer, if the victim or the offended party is a minor below a certain age, then there is also seduction of a woman who is single or a widow of good reputation, over 12 but under 18. Seduction, as understood in law, is committed against a woman, in other words, a man having sexual intercourse with a woman. That is how the term is understood in our jurisprudence. So I believe Mr. Chairman, that we should rather act with caution and circumspection on this matter. Let us hear everybody because we are about to enact a law which would have very drastic and transcendental effects on our existing laws. lri the first place, we are not yet very clear on what is pedophilia. We have already existing laws, which would punish these offenses. As a matter of fact, for the information of this Committee, in Cebu, I think that it is the first conviction for an offense which would in our understanding amounts to pedophilia. A fourteen-year old boy was the victim of certain sexual acts committed by a German national. The fiscal came up with an information for acts of lasciviousness under the Revised Penal Code and that German national was convicted for the offense charged. Now, the boy was kept in his rented house and subjected to sexual practices very unusual, tantamount to perversion but under present laws, these offenses such as ... well, it's too, we might say, too obscene to describe, cannot be categorized under our existing laws except acts of lasciviousness because there is no sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse in our jurisdiction is as I have stated earlier, committed by a man and a woman. And it is a sexual contact of the organ of the man with the organ of the woman. But in the case of this German national~ if there was any sexual contact it was between persons of the same sex. So, he was convicted. He's a detention prisoner and there is also deportation proceeding against him. In fact, he has applied for voluntary deportation, but he is to serve a penalty of prision correccional to prision mayor. So, that is the situation I would say in which we find ourselves. I am loath to immediately act on this agitation for a definition of a crime of pedophilia. There is no I think this Committee should study further the laws in other countries. Whether there is a distinct crime known as pedophilia and whether this can be committed against a person of the same sex or of another sex, or whether this crime is separate and distinct from the other crimes against honor or against chastity in their respective jurisdictions. This is a social evil but it has to be addressed with the tools we have at hand. If we have to forge another tool or instrument to find to fight this evil, then I think we should make sure that we are not doing violence for t7/