If there was anything good that came out of the Katrina Halili-Hayden Kho sex scandal, it’s the passing of the anti-voyeurism bill which will be implemented as soon as everything is set in order.

“We are down to the finalization of the bill,” Cong. Irwin Tieng of Buhay Party List told the Manila Bulletin in a recent interview. “And if not for Katrina Halili who really fought for her right, people would not have noticed the importance of this law.”

The bill – prophetically co-authored by Tieng along with fellow lawmakers Ma. Carissa Coscullueta and Rene Velarde – aims to penalize even the mere act or attempt of recording private acts.

In a previous interview, prior to the Katrina scandal, Cong. Tieng said he was just waiting for a Senate counterpart for the Cyber-Boso bill or House Bill 4315 to be passed. He already found one in Senator Pia Cayetano. “Inaayos na lang ang lahat para maisabatas na ito.”

Even if cases like Katrina’s happened before this law is implemented, the aggrieved party may still file charges provided that there remains reproduction and proliferation of the videos, whether in DVDs, online, mobile phones, and personal hard drives. “Even those who suffered from cases like this before for as long as napapnuod pa rin ang videos can file their complaints,” Tieng said.

Convicted violators of the anti-voyeurism law will suffer not less than six years behind bars and a fine or R100,000 but not more than R500,000. “If the offender is an alien, he or she shall be subject to deportation proceedings, after complying with the penalty of imprisonment. And fine for such violation.”

Tieng stressed, “We have to protect each other as Filipinos. We have seen how one helpless woman fall into the trap of these obscene acts. We must not let these things happen again.”