Decision - 19 - G.R. No. 227363 should protect her from the harmful consequences of her attempts at adult sexual behavior. For this reason, a child should not be deemed to have validly consented to adult sexual activity and to surrender herself in the act of ultimate physical intimacy under a law which seeks to afford her special protection against abuse, exploitation and discrimination. In sum, a child is presumed by law to be incapable of giving rational consent to any lascivious conduct or sexual intercourse. We take exception, however, to the sweeping conclusions in Malta (1) that "a child is presumed by law to be incapable of giving rational consent to any lascivious conduct or sexual intercourse" and (2) that "consent of the child is immaterial in criminal cases involving violation of Section 5, Article III of RA 7610" because they would virtually eradicate the concepts of statutory rape and statutory acts of lasciviousness, and trample upon the express provision of the said law. Recall that in statutory rape, the only subject of inquiry is whether the woman is below 12 years old or is demented and whether carnal knowledge took place; whereas force, intimidation and physical evidence of injury are not relevant c9nsiderations. With respect to acts of lasciviousness, R.A. No. 8353 modified Article 336 of the RPC by retaining the circumstance that the offended party is under 12 years old in order for acts of lasciviousness to be considered as statutory and by adding the circumstance that the offended party is demented, thereby rendering the evidence of force or intimidation immaterial. 47 This is because the law presumes that the victim who is under 12 years old or is demented does not and cannot have a will of her own on account of her tender years or dementia; thus, a child's or a demented person's consent is immaterial because of her presumed incapacity to · discern good from evil. 48 However, considering the definition under Section 3(a) of R.A. No. 7610 of the term "children" which refers to persons below eighteen (18) years of age or those over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition, We find that the opinion in Malta, that a child is presumed by law to be incapable of giving rational consent, unduly extends the concept of statutory rape or acts of lasciviousness to those victims who are within the range of 12 to 17 years old, and even those 18 years old and above under special circumstances who are still considered as "children" under Section 3(a) of R.A. No. 7610. While Malta is correct that consent is immaterial in cases under R.A. No. 7610 where the offended party is below 12 years of age, We clarify that consent of the child is material and may even be a defense in,,-k" 47 48 See Separate Concurring Opinion in Quimvel v. People, supra note 35. People v. Brioso, 788 Phil. 292, 306 (2016). ~'