Age of Consent in the Philippines

Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by RA 11648, makes sex with anyone under 16 rape, even with no force, threat or intimidation. Before that law the line was under 12, set by the Anti-Rape Law of 1997. Rape is punished by reclusion perpetua (Article 266-B), which means 20 years and a day to 40 years in prison (RA 7659).

There is a close-in-age exception. There's no criminal liability when the age gap is three years or less and the sex is proven consensual, non-abusive and non-exploitative (RA 11648). Non-abusive means no undue influence, intimidation, fraud, coercion, threat or injury. Non-exploitative means no taking advantage of the child's vulnerability, a power difference or trust. The exception never applies if the younger person is under 13.

For anything paid, the line is 18. RA 7610 treats everyone under 18 as a child, and a child who has sex for money, profit or anything else of value is a 'child exploited in prostitution'. Sex or lascivious conduct with them carries 14 years, 8 months and a day up to 40 years (Section 5(b)). If the child is under 16, the buyer is prosecuted for rape instead (RA 11648). Buying sex from a trafficked child carries 17 to 40 years, and probation doesn't apply (RA 10364).

Owners and managers of a bar, sauna, disco, resort or other place where child prostitution happens face the same penalty as buyers (Section 5(c)). Since 2022, grooming or luring a child, online or offline, carries 17 years, 4 months and a day to 20 years (RA 11930).

Turning 16 doesn't end every protection. Seducing a 16- or 17-year-old by deceit is still a crime, simple seduction under Article 338 of the Revised Penal Code (RA 11648), with one to six months in jail (Revised Penal Code). If the seducer is a teacher, guardian, priest, public official or anyone else entrusted with the minor, it's qualified seduction, with six months to four years and two months (Article 337).

An adult who lives with anyone under 18 outside marriage also commits a crime (RA 11596), and the minimum age to marry is 18 for both men and women (Family Code, Article 5).

Your own country's law travels with you. A US citizen or permanent resident who pays anyone under 18 for sex abroad, or commits a sexual act with someone under 18 that would be a federal sex crime on US federal territory, faces up to 30 years in US federal prison (18 U.S.C. § 2423). The Justice Department says the reason for the trip doesn't matter (US Department of Justice).

A UK national who does something abroad that would be a listed sexual offence in England and Wales is guilty of it there, even if it was legal where it happened (Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 72). Paying for sex with anyone under 18 is one of those offences (section 47). Canadian citizens and permanent residents who commit a listed sexual offence abroad against anyone under 18 are treated as if they did it in Canada (Criminal Code, section 7). That includes paying for sex with anyone under 18, which carries up to 14 years and at least six months for a first offence (section 286.1).

Australia draws its line at 16. Its citizens and residents face up to 25 years for sex with a child under 16 anywhere outside Australia, and sex with a 16- or 17-year-old is covered when the adult is in a position of trust or authority, such as their employer (Criminal Code Act 1995, Division 272).

Philippine immigration checks records too. It screened and turned away 137 registered sex offenders, most of them from the United States, in the period of the State Department's 2025 report (2025 Trafficking in Persons report). In August 2026 it turned away two American men with US convictions for sexually abusing children (Daily Tribune). Foreigners convicted under RA 7610 are deported after their sentence and permanently barred (Section 31).

Hotels and bars are where one rule matters most. Keeping a minor aged 16 or under, or one ten or more years younger than you, in your company in a hotel, motel, beer joint, disco, sauna, massage parlour, beach or tourist spot carries 10 years and a day to 12 years in prison, unless you're a relative or acting on a social, moral or legal duty (RA 7610 Section 10(b), as amended by RA 11648). An owner or manager who lets someone bring such a minor in faces prison, a fine and loss of the business licence (Section 10(d)).

A non-relative found alone with a child in a hotel room in circumstances that suggest exploitation can be charged with attempted child prostitution (Section 6). Since 2022, hotels and other tourism businesses must report suspected trafficking or child sexual exploitation on their premises within 48 hours (RA 11862).

The government's anti-trafficking hotline is the 1343 Actionline: call 1343, or (02) 1343 from outside Metro Manila (1343 Actionline). It runs 24/7 and keeps callers' identities confidential. The US State Department reports that calls to it led to 52 trafficking cases, all referred to law enforcement and services (2025 Trafficking in Persons report). For police, ambulance or fire, call 911 (UK travel advice). From the US, you can also report suspected child sex tourism to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or on 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day (NCMEC).