Boy Boso Dot Com Part II

Gilbert while reading the complaint on the Log Book.

Last Tuesday, my husband and I accompanied our friend to Barangay Chairman’s office for a scheduled hearing of her complaint against Matias Serrano III (whom we named BOY BOSO) and Gilbert Tolentino, his accomplice. We arrived several minutes late but the Barangay
Chairman informed us that Gilbert had dropped by his office in the morning to ask him about the summon that he had received. Instead of answering his question, the Chairman said he should go back at six o’clock PM as stated in the notice. Although the Chairman warned us that these two fellows did not attend hearings in the past, we still waited for approximately thirty minutes. Gilbert arrived, but Matias didn’t.





As expected, Gilbert tried to twist the story and tried to defend himself and his friend. He told us a lot of things that I couldn’t remember anymore but I posted the sound files and the video clips that I gathered while listening to his statements. He mentioned that he attended a funeral wake of one of our neighbors whom the three of us don’t know since we are just Gilbert’s aunt’s tenants who are busy working daily and thus are not aware of what was happening to the other neighbors. There were also some conflicts with his statements like he and Matias’ location, their direction, the place where the alleged “pamboboso” took place. He also mentioned Toto, another childhood friend of theirs who lives beside our boarding house, but my friend said she wasn’t able to see him when the incident happened. 

Since the conversation seemed to be useless, the Chairman decided to ask the main question—the exact location where he and Matias were standing, and where Matias went.

Finally, he admitted that they were together, but he still tried to drift the topic away. I was grateful when the Chairman told him about the possible case that the two of them might be facing especially the charges that Gilbert might be facing since he was at the scene of the crime.

After several seconds, he narrated what happened on that early morning, exactly the same as what he told my husband. I think his fear of facing charges weighed more than his will to defend his dear friend, so he told us that it was true that Matias wanted to peek through our bathroom window and since the plywood covering the broken part couldn’t be removed, he tried to remove the ruler a little instead. This supported my friend’s statement---that she saw the upper part of Matias’ head after the ruler had been partially removed. My friend also stressed out that she could never forget the man’s face since she usually sees him with his friends along V. Cruz Street, the place where we live.

Using search engines, I typed the word VOYEURISM and these are the things that I found out:

1.       Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature.(Wikipedia, ^ Hirschfeld, M. (1938). Sexual anomalies and perversions: Physical and psychological development, diagnosis and treatment (new and revised edition). London: Encyclopaedic Press.)

2.      Voyeurism ("Peeping Tom"): Voyeurism is a mental disorder that involves achieving sexual arousal by observing an unsuspecting and non-consenting person who is undressing or unclothed, and/or engaged in activity. This behavior may conclude with masturbation by the voyeur. The voyeur does not seek sexual contact with the person he is observing. Other names for this behavior are "peeping" or "peeping Tom." (www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Voyeurism)

3.       The term “Voyeurism” was derived from “voyeur” a French word which means “one who looks”, while the term “Peeping Tom” was originated from the legend of Lady Godiva, a woman who, according to the legend, rode naked through the street to gain remission for the oppressive taxation of her husband towards his tenants. A man (Tom) watched her as she rode and was struck blind.

4.       Peeping Toms have a lot of strategies to “watch their victims for fun” and most of their victims are unaware of the act (others are). In the past, they just watch by the window, roof, door or peepholes but with the use of modern technologies, some of them took pictures or videos of their victims. Wearing glasses, using binoculars, two-way mirrors and spy cameras are also common.   Some victims even had their videos or photographs spread from one cellular phone to another, on the internet or through CDs.

5.       The objective of voyeurs is to achieve sexual excitement and they sometimes fantasized engaging sexual act with the victim. However, the gratification through actual sex with the victim is rarely sought. Most voyeurs are men but there were some occasions when women do the said activity. http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Voyeurism.html#b

6.       Countries all over the world have different laws against voyeurs. In some countries, this is not considered an offense at all, because there are no written laws against it. Others consider it a crime if devices used to view / reproduce are present.  On the other hand, there are several states in America where voyeurism, more specifically, video voyeurism is a serious offense and may require the offender to register as a sex offender.

7.      In the Philippines, we have “RA 9262” or Anti-Violation of Women and Children Act. However, I couldn’t find any clause where what these two young fellows did fall under. Kindly read here :http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2004/ra_9262_2004.html

Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA 7877) but the problem is, it only covers three specific areas: work, education or training-related. To read the full text of this law, please read here: http://www.chanrobles.com/legal4antisexualharassmentact.htm

Therefore, the offense done by Matias with the help of his friend Gilbert is not being covered by this law.

Before I forget, our Congress also passed a law against photo and video voyeurism, after the Halili-Kho sex video had been leaked. This is called "Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009"or RA 9995. http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2010/ra_9995_2010.html

Again, it still doesn’t fall under this law, because there was no photo or video that was taken.

It also does not fall under “Act of Lasciviousness” because this is defined as “the act of making a physical contact with the body of another person for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification other than, or without intention of, sexual intercourse. Source: http://www.batasnatin.com/law-library/criminal-law/crimes-and-penalties/1074-acts-of-lasciviousness.html

I also looked at some Philippine law forums and I found out that this act is just considered “petty crime” or “lesser criminal act” and the only case that could be filed against them is “Unjust Vexation” which, according to Revised Penal Code, “shall be punished by arresto menor (as per Article 27 of RPC, the duration of penalty shall be from one to thirty days) or a fine ranging from 5 pesos to 200 pesos, or both.” (Article 287)

Even though it is still punishable by law, it is not categorizing it as serious crime against women and there is only “lighter” punishment for offenders. These are the reasons that many women kept their mouth shut even though they had experienced being victims of “Boy Bosos” or Peeping Toms.  In addition, most of us consider sexual crimes a shame, especially on women’s part. Women who were victims of sexual crimes are often branded as “malandi”, “mahalay”, “nagbibigay ng motibo” and even though it is often clearly not our fault, people would still think that we have participation why the crime had occurred. In addition, “pamboboso” is sometimes considered a part of growing up. These ways of thinking therefore produce more Peeping Toms and more victims of that deed.

Yes, it is our duty to take care of our bodies, especially our private parts. Letting herself be exposed to others while taking a shower wasn’t my friend’s fault, as it was done inside a private comfort room.  We brought the matter to the landlady and she kept promising us to fix the window right away, but take a look at these:

the bathroom window: before and after the incident

Okay, I need to tell her that I won’t be paying for next month and I will just use the one month deposit. I guess we really have to transfer ASAP.

Sad to say, Gilbert was included in the complaint filed. The Chairman was right: Matias would not be able to do it without Gilbert as a lookout. And personally, I don’t believe that he did not do what his friend did. Of course, he’s one of the people who have been living in the same compound, plus, he’s our landlady’s nephew. He clearly knows all the areas of our boarding house. He was just lucky not being caught. I believe that, as our landlady's relative, he has a responsibility of keeping the entire boarding house safe.

For Matias, SHAME ON YOU, BOY! You’re already married but, what have you done? It clearly showed that you disrespect women when in fact; you were born on earth because of a certain woman---your mother.

The government, especially the Legislative Branch, should do something about this matter. Voyeurism should be considered a serious offense, a form of abuse against women and thus severe punishment should be imposed, whether Boy Boso just peeked through his naked eye or used devices, whether it is recorded or not.

NOTE:
Some might say that posting Gilbert's picture is a form of cyberbullying. Come on, prove it! He knew that I wrote this entry. And according to him, he didn't care if his name would be tainted forever. He knew that I was taking a video, sound files and pictures while we were inside the Barangay Chairman's office. And even Mr. Chairman was aware that I had been gathering evidences while the hearing was going on. Posting this entry without enough evidences to back up my claims is a form of maligning someone. Go and investigate: talk to Mr. Chairman and Miss Barangay Secretary to prove that my claims were true. Plus, this is the consequence of Gilbert's and his friend's actions. Face it like a man. Sabi nga eh "Ginawa mo 'yan, panindigan mo".