Quick answer

You may report sexual harassment through one or more channels at the same time:

At work: File a written complaint with your employer’s Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI), human-resources office, or designated anti-sexual-harassment officer.
At school or in training: File with the school’s designated officer-in-charge, CODI, child-protection committee, guidance office, or other office named in its published grievance procedure.
In a government agency: File with the agency or department where the person complained of is employed; the complaint should be referred to its CODI.
In streets, public transport, malls, restaurants, and other public spaces: Report to the nearest Philippine National Police (PNP) station or Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD), or to the Anti-Sexual Harassment Desk at the barangay or city hall.
Online: Report to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG). Preserve the original messages, account information, links, and files before blocking or reporting the account.
For criminal prosecution: You may seek assistance from the police or National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and file the appropriate complaint with the prosecutor’s office or court, depending on the offense and location.

An internal complaint does not prevent a criminal complaint, civil action, labor remedy, or administrative case when the facts support one. You do not have to identify the correct statute before seeking help; describe exactly what happened and let the proper authority determine which law or rules apply.

If there was rape, unwanted sexual touching, physical injury, threats, stalking, confinement, image-based abuse, or immediate danger, prioritize safety and contact 911, the nearest police station or WCPD, and a lawyer or prosecutor promptly.

What Philippine law treats as sexual harassment

Two national laws are especially important.

Sexual harassment involving authority or influence

The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, Republic Act No. 7877, applies in employment, education, and training environments. It covers a person who has authority, influence, or moral ascendancy over another and demands, requests, or otherwise requires a sexual favor.

In employment, the conduct may constitute sexual harassment when, for example:

A sexual favor is made a condition for hiring, continued employment, promotion, compensation, or another benefit;
Refusal leads to discrimination or diminished employment opportunities;
The conduct impairs rights under labor laws; or
The conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

In education or training, the law covers conduct involving someone under the offender’s care, custody, supervision, or instruction, including when a sexual favor is linked to grades, honors, scholarships, allowances, or other benefits, or when sexual advances create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

A demand for a sexual favor need not always be expressed in a formal or categorical sentence. The Supreme Court has explained that the surrounding acts and circumstances may establish the demand or request. However, liability under RA 7877 remains fact-dependent and requires authority, influence, or moral ascendancy in a work, education, or training setting. See Escandor v. People, G.R. No. 211962, July 6, 2020.

Gender-based sexual harassment, including peer and online conduct

The Safe Spaces Act, Republic Act No. 11313, has broader coverage. It protects people regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression and addresses harassment:

In streets and public spaces;
In public-utility and app-based transport;
In establishments open to the public;
Online;
In workplaces; and
In educational and training institutions.

Workplace or school harassment under this law can be committed by a peer, a subordinate against a superior, or a student against a teacher. It may include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, offensive conduct of a sexual nature, sex-based conduct affecting a person’s dignity, or unwelcome and pervasive conduct creating an intimidating, hostile, or humiliating environment. Messages, email, and other technology may be involved.

Public-space harassment may include catcalling, wolf-whistling, persistent unwanted invitations, sexual comments, sexist or homophobic slurs, leering, stalking, flashing, public masturbation, groping, or unwanted touching.

Online gender-based sexual harassment may include sexual or sexist threats and remarks, cyberstalking, incessant messaging, impersonation, or nonconsensual uploading or sharing of sexual photos, audio, or video. The exact offense depends on the content, context, evidence, and other applicable laws.

Choose the appropriate complaint route

If it happened in a private workplace

Ask for the company’s anti-sexual-harassment policy and CODI procedure. Submit the complaint to the office or person identified there, commonly the CODI, HR department, compliance office, or designated officer.

The Safe Spaces Act requires employers to establish an independent internal mechanism or CODI that:

Is properly representative and impartial;
Is headed by a woman, with women comprising at least half its membership;
Has no member connected or related to the alleged perpetrator;
Observes due process;
Protects the complainant from retaliation;
Maintains confidentiality to the greatest extent possible; and
Investigates and decides complaints within 10 days or less from receipt.

Request a stamped receiving copy, acknowledgment email, or tracking number. If a supervisor or HR officer is implicated, send the complaint directly to an uninvolved CODI member, compliance officer, higher management, or another channel authorized by the policy.

Failure to establish the required mechanism or to act on a reported complaint may expose the employer or responsible person to separate liability. For possible employer noncompliance or related labor concerns, you may approach the appropriate Department of Labor and Employment regional or field office. Whether a particular labor process can grant the remedy you seek depends on the employment issue involved.

If you work in government

Under the Civil Service Commission’s rules, file with the agency or department where the respondent is employed. The matter should be referred to that agency’s CODI.

The current government-wide procedural rules should be checked alongside the agency’s own rules. Relevant official issuances include the CSC’s Revised Administrative Disciplinary Rules on Sexual Harassment Cases and the applicable provisions of the current Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.

If the agency head or CODI members have a conflict, state the conflict in writing and ask the proper disciplinary authority or CSC for guidance. Do not assume that sending a complaint to the wrong office preserves every deadline.

If it happened at school or during training

Every public or private school must have a designated officer to receive complaints and a published grievance procedure. A complaint may be submitted through the school’s CODI or the office identified in its handbook or policy.

Ask immediately for:

Protection from contact or retaliation;
Preservation of CCTV footage, class records, platform logs, and messages;
Changes in class, schedule, dormitory, supervision, or reporting arrangements when reasonably necessary for safety;
An impartial investigator; and
Written notice of the result and available review or appeal process.

A school that knows or reasonably should know of possible gender-based sexual harassment or sexual violence has a duty to investigate and take appropriate steps even when the affected person does not request action. Special child-protection and safeguarding rules may also apply when a learner is under 18.

If it happened in a street or public place

Go to any of the following:

The nearest PNP station or WCPD;
An Anti-Sexual Harassment Desk at the barangay or city hall;
A trained Anti-Sexual Harassment Enforcer, where available; or
The designated anti-sexual-harassment officer or security office of the mall, restaurant, hotel, bar, terminal, or other establishment.

Ask the establishment or investigating officer to preserve CCTV footage immediately. Many systems overwrite recordings after a short retention period. Note the exact time, location, entrance, vehicle, route, plate number, establishment, and direction in which the person left.

A barangay desk may receive and assist with a report, but whether barangay conciliation is a required precondition to a particular case depends on the offense, penalties, parties’ residences, and statutory exceptions. Obtain case-specific advice rather than assuming every sexual-harassment complaint must first undergo mediation.

If it happened online

Preserve evidence before blocking the sender or asking a platform to remove the material. Then report to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or another authorized cybercrime office.

Save:

Full-screen screenshots showing the account name, date, time, and platform;
Direct links or URLs;
Usernames, profile pages, account identifiers, email addresses, and phone numbers;
Original message threads and attachments;
Downloaded copies of posted files, where safe and lawful;
Platform-report confirmations;
Names of people who saw the content; and
A timeline of reposting, threats, contact attempts, or account changes.

Do not publicly repost intimate material merely to prove that it exists. Tell investigators where it can be found and preserve a restricted copy. Other laws—such as the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act, cybercrime laws, child-protection laws, or laws on threats and stalking—may apply depending on the material and the people involved.

How to prepare the written complaint

Follow the organization’s form or manual if one exists. Otherwise, prepare a clear chronological statement containing:

Your identifying and contact information. If disclosure creates a safety risk, tell the receiving office and ask what protective arrangements are available.
The respondent’s identity. Include job title, department, school role, username, phone number, vehicle details, or other identifying information you know.
Your relationship to the respondent. Explain any supervisory authority, influence, grading power, coaching role, dependency, or workplace or school connection.
Each incident. Give the date or approximate date, time, place or platform, words or conduct, who was present, and what happened afterward.
Why the conduct was unwelcome. Describe refusals, objections, avoidance, fear, freezing, power imbalance, or circumstances showing lack of consent. A person’s inability to confront the offender immediately does not automatically mean the conduct was welcome.
Employment or educational consequences. Identify threats, schedule changes, poor evaluations, lost opportunities, grade issues, isolation, retaliation, or hostile conditions.
Witnesses and evidence. List what exists and where it is held.
Prior reports. State whom you notified, when, how, and what action or inaction followed.
Requested protection or action. Examples include no-contact directions, reporting-line changes, evidence preservation, leave or schedule arrangements, an impartial investigation, and protection from retaliation.
Signature, date, and verification. Check whether the applicable procedure requires the complaint to be sworn before a notary or authorized officer.

Separate what you personally saw or heard from what another person told you. If you cannot remember an exact date or quotation, say that it is approximate rather than guessing.

Evidence to preserve

A case is not limited to eyewitness testimony. Relevant material may include:

Texts, chats, email, direct messages, call logs, and voice messages;
Photos, videos, CCTV footage, access logs, and transport or booking records;
Calendars, meeting invitations, attendance records, duty rosters, and location history;
Performance reviews, grades, schedules, promotion records, or disciplinary notices;
Company or school policies and proof that management received the report;
Medical, psychological, or counseling records;
Contemporaneous diary entries or messages sent to trusted people;
Clothing or physical items, if an assault occurred; and
Witness statements.

Keep original files where possible. Back them up without editing, cropping, adding annotations, or changing filenames. Create working copies for highlighting or redaction.

Be cautious about secretly recording a private conversation. The Anti-Wiretapping Act may prohibit recording certain private communications without authorization from all parties. Seek legal advice before making or distributing a covert recording.

Filing a criminal complaint

An administrative report to an employer or school is different from a criminal complaint.

For a criminal case, bring your identification, written narrative, evidence, and witness information to the police, WCPD, PNP-ACG for online conduct, NBI, or the appropriate prosecutor’s office. An investigator may ask you to execute a sworn complaint-affidavit and supporting affidavits.

Where the case must initially be filed—and whether a preliminary investigation is required—depends on the specific offense, its prescribed penalty, and the place where it occurred. The prosecutor or investigating agency should identify the proper procedure. Ask for a receiving copy and reference number.

The prosecutor determines whether the evidence establishes probable cause. An internal finding does not automatically control the prosecutor or court, and an acquittal or dismissal in one proceeding does not necessarily determine every administrative, civil, or employment issue because the proceedings may involve different rules and standards.

Important filing deadlines

Do not wait for the last day. Identifying the correct prescriptive period can require legal analysis, especially when several offenses or a continuing course of conduct may be involved.

Under RA 7877, an action arising from a violation prescribes in three years.

Under Section 36 of the Safe Spaces Act:

Section 11(a) public-space offenses prescribe in one year;
Section 11(b) offenses prescribe in three years;
Section 11(c), including specified unwanted touching or stalking conduct, prescribes in 10 years;
Section 12 online gender-based sexual harassment is imprescriptible under the Act; and
Workplace and educational offenses under Sections 16 and 21 prescribe in five years.

These statutory periods do not necessarily determine the deadline for a civil claim, labor claim, school appeal, government administrative case, local-ordinance violation, or another criminal offense arising from the same facts. Internal policies may also set shorter reporting or appeal periods. Consult a lawyer or the proper agency urgently if any deadline may be near.

Protection, privacy, and retaliation

Request interim protection in writing. Depending on the setting, appropriate measures may include separation from the respondent, a no-contact direction, schedule or reporting-line changes, security assistance, preservation orders, or leave arrangements that do not punish the complainant.

The Safe Spaces Act requires workplace and school complaint mechanisms to protect complainants from retaliation and to preserve confidentiality to the greatest extent possible. It also permits a court, where appropriate, to order an alleged perpetrator to stay away from the offended person, home, school, workplace, or another specified place even before final judgment.

Confidentiality is not absolute: information may need to be disclosed to the respondent, investigators, witnesses, prosecutors, or courts to provide due process and investigate the case. Ask the receiving office who will have access to the complaint and how records will be secured.

Document any retaliation, including threats, pressure to withdraw, hostile messages, undesirable reassignment, exclusion, grade or evaluation changes, termination, or disclosure of private information. Report each new incident promptly.

Common mistakes to avoid

Reporting only verbally and keeping no proof that the report was received;
Deleting messages or blocking an account before preserving evidence;
Cropping screenshots so that the date, time, username, or conversation context disappears;
Editing original files or circulating intimate content unnecessarily;
Waiting for an internal investigation to end while a criminal or administrative deadline continues to run;
Assuming conduct is lawful because the offender is a peer or subordinate;
Assuming you must confront the offender before filing;
Signing a resignation, settlement, release, or confidentiality agreement without understanding its effect;
Posting accusations publicly in a way that creates privacy, safety, or separate legal risks; and
Accepting informal mediation when you feel unsafe, coerced, or unable to participate freely.

When legal help is urgent

Seek immediate assistance if:

You are in danger or the respondent has threatened you, your family, employment, grades, immigration status, or reputation;
The incident involved penetration, forced sexual contact, groping, injury, confinement, drugs, weapons, or a minor;
Intimate images have been posted or threatened with release;
Evidence may soon disappear, including CCTV or online content;
You have been dismissed, suspended, demoted, failed, transferred, or otherwise penalized after reporting;
The alleged offender controls the complaint process;
Officials refuse to receive the complaint;
You are being pressured to withdraw or sign a settlement;
A filing deadline may be approaching; or
The conduct could fall under several laws.

A lawyer can assess possible criminal, administrative, labor, civil, child-protection, data-privacy, or protection-order remedies. Those who cannot afford private counsel may inquire with the Public Attorney’s Office, subject to its legal and eligibility requirements. The Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine Commission on Women may also provide information or referrals within their mandates.

Frequently asked questions

Must I prove that I clearly said “no”?

Not necessarily. The question is whether the conduct was unwelcome under the applicable law and circumstances. Fear, shock, freezing, dependency, or a power imbalance may explain why a person did not confront the offender immediately. The complete evidence still matters.

Can a man or an LGBTQIA+ person file a complaint?

Yes. The Safe Spaces Act protects any person and expressly addresses conduct involving sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. RA 7877 is also not limited to female complainants.

Can I complain about a co-worker, classmate, subordinate, or student?

Yes, potentially under the Safe Spaces Act and institutional rules. Unlike RA 7877, coverage is not limited to harassment by someone with authority, influence, or moral ascendancy.

Can I file even if the incident happened through chat while I was at home?

Yes, depending on the facts. The conduct may be workplace or school harassment if connected to that environment, online gender-based sexual harassment, or both. Preserve the full thread and explain the employment or school connection.

Do I need a lawyer to submit an internal complaint?

Usually not, unless the governing policy requires otherwise. Legal assistance can nevertheless be valuable where the facts are serious, the respondent is powerful, retaliation has occurred, or deadlines are uncertain.

Can I pursue an internal and criminal complaint together?

Yes. Administrative sanctions do not bar prosecution under RA 7877, and the same events may support separate proceedings. Each forum makes its own determination under its governing rules.

What if HR or the school refuses to accept my complaint?

Send it through another documented official channel, request written reasons for the refusal, and retain proof of delivery. Consider approaching DOLE, CSC, DepEd, CHED, TESDA, the police, a prosecutor, or counsel, depending on the institution and conduct involved.

Can I remain anonymous?

You may ask about confidential or anonymous reporting, but an anonymous report may limit the institution’s ability to investigate. A criminal prosecution ordinarily requires evidence and identifiable witnesses. Discuss safety concerns with the receiving officer instead of omitting essential facts without guidance.

What if I reported months or years later?

Delay does not automatically make a report false or invalid. File promptly and explain the circumstances. Whether a legal action remains available depends on the applicable prescriptive period and how it is computed.

Official legal sources

This article provides general legal information, not legal advice or a prediction of any case’s outcome. Procedures and available remedies depend on the facts, governing institutional rules, location, and evidence. Official sources were checked as of September 3, 2026.