RA 6955 Mail Order Brides

R.
A 6955
ACT AGAINST MAIL
ORDER BRIDES
BRIEF HISTORY
The Philippine congress enacted Republic Act
6955 or the Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law in 1990
as a result of stories that appeared in the local
press and media about Filipinas being abused
by their foreign husbands.
Before the passage of the law, the mailordered business was compared to
prostitutionwhere Filipino women are treated
as "mere commodities to be packaged and
mailed for the right price
AN ACT TO DECLARE UNLAWFUL

THE
PRACTICE
OF
MATCHING
FILIPINO WOMEN FOR MARRIAGE
TO FOREIGN NATIONALS ON A MAIL
ORDER BASIS AND OTHER SIMILAR
PRACTICES,
INCLUDING
THE
ADVERTISEMENT,
PUBLICATION,
PRINTING OR DISTRIBUTION OF
BROCHURES, FLIERS AND OTHER
PROPAGANDA MATERIALS
STATE POLICY:
to ensure and guarantee the enjoyment of

the people of a decent standard of living.
to protect Filipino women from being

exploited in utter disregard of human
dignity in their pursuit of economic
upliftment.
(SECTION 1, R.A. 6955)
The
following
unlawful:
acts
are
To establish or carry on a business which

has for its purpose the matching of Filipino
women for marriage to foreign nationals
either on a mail-order basis or through
personal introduction;
To advertise, publish, print or distribute or

cause the advertisement, publication,
printing or distribution of any brochure,
flier, or any propaganda material calculated
to promote the prohibited acts in the
preceding subparagraph;
To solicit, enlist or in any manner attract or

induce any Filipino woman to become a
member in any club or association whose
objective is to match women for marriage to
foreign nationals either on a mail-order
basis or through personal introduction for a
fee;
To use the postal service to promote the

prohibited acts in subparagraph 1 hereof.
Persons who are liable:
natural or juridical, association, club or any

other entity.
manager or officer-in-charge or advertising
manager of any newspaper, magazine,
television or radio station, or other media, or
of an advertising agency, printing company or
other similar entities.
association, club, partnership, corporation, or
any other entity, the incumbent officers
thereof who have knowingly participated in
the violation.
imprisonment of not less than six (6) years

and one (1) day but not more than eight
(8) years, and a fine of not less than Eight
thousand pesos (P8,000) but not more
than Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000)
if the offender is a foreigner, he shall be
immediately deported and barred forever
from entering the country after serving his
sentence and payment of fine.
In April 2009, Philippine ambassador

toSouth KoreaLuis Cruz estimated
6,000 Filipinas had met South Korean
spouses
through
matchmaking
agencies. Some of these brides have
complained of domestic violence or
false
information
regarding
their
partners background.
In 2013, a bill was introduced

in the Philippine House of
Representatives to extend the
law to internet services.
Rep. Cinchona Gonzales (CIBAC), who

filed the bill, said
"A new era of professional prostitution
or high-end pornography through the
web was born which downgrades the
integrity not only of Filipino women, but
of the country as a whole."
EXAMPLE OF ADVERTISEMENTS
OFFERING MAIL ORDER BRIDES
AN ACT BROADENING THE SCOPE OF

UNLAWFUL PRACTICES OF MATCHING
FILIPINO WOMEN FOR MARRIAGE TO
FOREIGN NATIONALS TO INCLUDE
VARIOUS SCHEMES MADE AVAILABLE
THROUGH THE INTERNET. AMENDING
FOR THIS PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO.
6955
MARRIAGE
BROKERAGE
SYSTEM
Definition ofMARRIAGE BROKERAGE

- the act of negotiating or arranging a
marriage contract between a man and
woman in return for a consideration :
the
business
of
arranging
such
contracts
Marriage
brokerage services
focused primarily on providing
dating services between local
citizens or residents and foreign
nationals for a fee.
The law is circumvented by basing

matchmaking
agencies
outside
the
Philippines as no law prohibits their
operation in destination countries such
asJapan,
theUnited
States
of
Americaand South Korea.
ACTUAL CASE
28 March 2014 that the Quezon City Regional Trial Court rendered its judgment
against two accused, Celia Rumusod Gorospe and Ginalyn Jaicten Inao and
found them guilty of violating Republic Act 6955. They were convicted for
matching, offering and contracting marriage between Filipinos and foreign
nationals for profit. Both were sentenced to imprisonment of six (6) years and
one day to eight (8) years and was fined ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00).
The case was handled and closely monitored by the CFO since May 2008 until
the promulgation of judgment on 25 March 2014. The CFO is a government
agency under the Office of the President which is mandated to promote and
uphold the interest of overseas Filipinos. One of its program provided under
the Philippine Passport Act and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act is
to conduct mandatory pre-departure guidance and counselling program to
Filipino spouses and other partners of foreign nationals.
RTC CASE.
RA 6955 has been used to

fightforced marriage and
human trafficking.
In an effort to deal with the problem, the

Philippines passed R.A. 9208, theAntiTrafficking in Persons Act of 2003, a
penal law againsthuman trafficking,sex
tourism,sex slaveryandchild prostitution.
Susana Blackwell Case (1995)

Anastasia King Case (2000)
Cathy Bonesa Mae Deocades
President George W. Bush signed the

Federal International Marriage Broker
Regulation Act in January 2005. This
legislation was the result of a campaign
following the murders of Susana and
Anastasia. The legislation was intended
to stop abuse of "mail order brides" by
prospective husbands with criminal
histories.

RA 6955 Mail Order Brides

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R.

AN ACT TO DECLARE UNLAWFUL

to ensure and guarantee the enjoyment of

to protect Filipino women from being

To establish or carry on a business which

To advertise, publish, print or distribute or

To solicit, enlist or in any manner attract or

To use the postal service to promote the

Persons who are liable:

natural or juridical, association, club or any

imprisonment of not less than six (6) years

In April 2009, Philippine ambassador

In 2013, a bill was introduced

Rep. Cinchona Gonzales (CIBAC), who

AN ACT BROADENING THE SCOPE OF

Definition ofMARRIAGE BROKERAGE

The law is circumvented by basing

RA 6955 has been used to

In an effort to deal with the problem, the

Susana Blackwell Case (1995)

President George W. Bush signed the

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