Seizing partner’s ATM card abuse – lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — The act of confiscating the automated teller

machine (ATM) card of a partner or spouse is tantamount to economic
abuse and should be illegal, according to a proposed measure in the
House of Representatives.

“It becomes economic abuse in the sense that the act of getting his or her
ATM card from which he or she draws his salary or livelihood actually
deprives him of the right to spend his own money on where or what he
wishes to,” Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, who filed House Bill 4888, said in a
statement yesterday.

Nograles said HB 4888, the Anti-Violence Against Partners and their

Children Act, seeks to amend Republic Act 9262, the Anti-Violence Against
Women and Children Act to cover abused husbands and LGBT partners.

The principal objective of HB 4888 is to provide “mainstream gender

equality” for all, he said.

“We must recognize that there are also male partners who are victims of
abuse, yet are unable to report such incidents because of prejudice,”
Nograles wrote in his explanatory note.

Wife confiscating
husband's salary liable
for economic abuse
under House bill
Published October 4, 2019 1:54pm
By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA News

Wives or female partners who require their husbands/male partners to turn over their
entire salary to them will be committing economic abuse and will be punished under
a proposed law at the House of Representatives, a lawmaker said Friday.

The provision is part of the proposed Anti-Violence Against Partner and their
Children Act, a measure that amends the Violence Against Women and Their
Children Act of 2004 by expanding its coverage from women to all those who
experience acts of violence from their partners.
Rizal Representative Fidel Nograles, author of the bill, said that such coverage for
economic abuse is necessary, considering that not all husbands earn more than the
wife and/or are fulfilling the breadwinner role in every household.

"Economic abuse happens kapag financially dependent na lang ang isa sa kanyang
partner.. 'yung nawawala na ang kanyang karapatang tugunan ang kanilang mga
sariling pangangailangan," Nograles said.

"Maaari itong maging isang uri ng economic abuse na puwede nating tugunan sa
ilalim ng ating batas," he added.

"'Yung pagkuha ng ATM card kung nasaan ang suweldo, hindi na nabibigyan ng
pagkakaton ang mister na mag-decide sa gastusin."

Nograles then stressed that his proposal is not putting women at a disadvantage but
is in fact promoting gender equality because as it is, economic abuse on wives or
female partners are also punishable under the existing Anti Violence Against Women
and Children Act.

"Sa batas po natin, kapag ‘yung babae ang hindi binibigyan ng pera ng kanyang
husband, ‘yun yung economic abuse. Pero ngayon, meron kasing mga bagong set
up sa pagitan ng husband and wife," he said.

"Uso na ngayon ‘yung houseband or ‘yung mister na nasa bahay at yung wife o
'yung misis ang nagha-hanapbuhay kaya puwedeng ma-reverse ‘yung situation na
yung husband naman ‘yung umaasa doon sa kanyang misis sa sustento,” Nograles
added.

Nograles also said by filing the bill aims to "mainstream gender equality."

The Rizal lawmaker said that in his experience in providing legal aid to people with
marital problems, there are 12 to 15 abused husbands/male partners in every 100
couples and there could be more.

"'Yung macho culture ng ating lipunan, ego [ng mga lalaki] ay mga dahilan po kung
bakit nahihirapan silang lumantad," Nograles said.

"Kapag naging mainstream na itong issue ng abused husbands, tataas na rin po ang
bilang nung mga lalapit sa media at hihingi ng tulong sa pang-aabuso."

Under the measure, violence against partners and their children is defined as "any
act or a series of acts committed by any person against their spouses, former
spouse, partner, former partner, or against any other person with whom they have or
had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom they have a common child, or
against the other person's child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without
the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual,
psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts,
battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty."

The term "partner," however, does not necessarily refer to heterosexual ones, but
also to lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, intersex, cisgender, and transgender
partners. —KBK, GMA News