The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that women may now be held criminally liable for rape by sexual intercourse, saying the crime became gender-neutral after Congress amended the Anti-Rape Law in 2022.

In a decision promulgated this year in Annabelle Maliclic v. People of the Philippines (GR 280727), the high court said Republic Act 11648 broadened the law by replacing gender-specific language with the phrase “a person who shall have carnal knowledge of another person.”

The ruling came as the Court affirmed the conviction of Annabelle Maliclic, who forced an 11-year-old relative into sexual intercourse.

Because the offense was committed in 2018, before Republic Act 11648 took effect, the Court ruled that Maliclic could not be convicted under the amended rape law.

Instead, it found her guilty of statutory acts of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code, explaining that the child was below 12 years old and therefore legally incapable of giving consent.

The Court modified the earlier rulings of the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals, which had convicted Maliclic of lascivious conduct under Republic Act 7610.

In explaining the significance of Republic Act 11648, the Court said rape by sexual intercourse is no longer legally limited to a male offender and a female victim.

Under the amended law, any person may commit rape against another person if all the elements of the offense under Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code are present.

The Court said the previous version of the Anti-Rape Law, which referred only to a man raping a woman, no longer reflects the realities of sexual violence.

It added that refusing to recognize men as possible victims of rape by sexual intercourse is not only discriminatory but also deprives male victims of legal protection despite suffering the same trauma.

The Court stressed, however, that the amended law could not be applied retroactively because criminal laws that are unfavorable to an accused generally operate only prospectively.